Eternal Sunrise
by Choices HP
Summary: This story is about the events that happened after the Cullens read about what was going to happen in the future and what they are going to do to change the future that they had just read about.
1. First Sight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: To everyone that has read this story before, I have recently decided to repost this story. I'm sorry that I didn't do this as soon as it was taken down (by this site) but at the time it was deleted I didn't feel much like posting anything (seeing as a lot of my stories had been forcefully been deleted). After that I was just lazy. To those of you that are never read this story before, I hope you enjoy it.**

 **I will be posting a chapter of this story every day. Also just so you know, I'm going to be keeping all of the old Author's notes from when I posted this story for the first time. I image that all of the A/N in the up incoming chapters will be the notes from the past, but if I add anything new I will put the date in front of the note so it's obvious it's new.**

 **Old A/N: Well, here it is, the much awaited version of the way I think things would have changed if the Cullens had read the books and Bella and Jacob had read Midnight Sun. Hopefully you will all enjoy it. I feel like I have a good grasp on the characters after spending almost a year writing my other stories. Anyway, enough of that, and now to tell you that I will be doing this in a third person prospective, I'm not very good with the whole 'I' thing when I'm writing and I like getting into everyone's head. Oh, and I'm entitling this first chapter 'First Sight' just liked the book, because it is the first time they see each other, but I'm pretty sure that things are going to change rather quickly from the book so this will be the only chapter title that is the same as the books.**

 **Also, I have to say that I can only post one chapter a week for this story. I really am sorry, seeing as you're all use to a chapter every other day, but I really can't do that for this story.**

 **I just want to thank YesMyRealNameIsBella for coming up with the name Eternal Sunrise.**

 **And thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter One

First Sight

Bella was waiting in her room. Her mind was reeling as she nervously went over what had happened during the last few days. How could such a tiny thing like a book change her perspective of everything? Even sitting in the room that she was dreading having to stay in just the other day now seemed nice … this place was already feeling like home. How did that happen? Was it because she knew that she was going to find her niche – or was it that she had already found her place in this town she grew up hating?

"Bella!" she heard her dad, Charlie, call from downstairs. "If you don't get down here soon, you'll be late."

"Coming, Dad," Bella shouted as she got up. She was fully dressed, as she had been for the last few hours after she woke up and couldn't go back to sleep. She was anxious about this day. It was the day that was going to change her life forever, and she couldn't wait for it to get started. Still, she couldn't help remembering her friend Jacob's less than stellar attitude about what she was going to do today.

" _I suppose we'll just have to think of something," Bella had said and he looked at her._

" _Well, obviously you're going to have to do something about your scent," Jacob said._

" _I can't do anything about that," Bella rolled her eyes. "Whatever I do to try to hide it …"_

" _No, I didn't mean that," Jacob shook his head. "I mean you should somehow let Edward know how deadly your scent is to him…. deadly to you that is."_

 _Bella rolled her eyes, she didn't need the reminder that he was dangerous to her … she knew that quite well. "And how do you think we could do that?"_

" _I don't know," Jacob said. "Maybe talk to Alice … I'm sure she'll see you coming if you decided to do that and … um … she'll likely help you."_

" _That's probably true," Bella mumbled, "she might even see that we're friends already and want to help me … but I'm not sure if that would really be best for Edward … if that will help him."_

" _Of course it is," Jacob snapped at her. "The farther away he is from you when he first …" he shivered, it was obvious what he was thinking about. "The better it will be for you!"_

" _Unless, it's the fact that he sees me that he's able to resist hurting me," Bella said._

" _What?" Jacob frowned and glared at her at the same time, it was an odd combination and she wanted to laugh, but that wouldn't have helped._

" _Well, I was thinking … you know when he first saw me," Bella started._

" _When he first thought about murdering you and your classmates," Jacob hissed at her._

" _What made him stop was seeing my eyes," Bella said, as if Jacob hadn't interrupted, but she was definitely affected when he mentioned the other students. She didn't really like the thought that she was endangering others, but she felt that she was right with this. "Or seeing his reflection in my eyes … and he … well even before he met me he was starting to be protective of me …"_

" _What's your point?" Jacob said, sure what she was about to say, but he didn't want to believe it._

" _Um …. I think it might be best if I just act like I did in the book," Bella said, not sure if this was the right thing to do or not … or if Jacob would agree with her or not._

" _That's ridiculous!" Well, it looked like he didn't agree._

" _I know it sounds …." Bella started._

"… _like you're leaving your fate up to chance!" Jacob hissed at her._

" _He didn't hurt me in the book," Bella said, her anger rising a little. "And I have to believe that he won't hurt me in this reality either."_

" _How could you say that when he's so damn convinced that he's going to hurt you when you're in that meadow alone … and that's months from now!" Jacob shouted._

" _Because he's never hurt me," Bella said. "He thinks he will, which is something that I'm sure helps him to keep from actually doing anything …."_

" _But he doesn't know anything about you now, Bella," Jacob pleaded with her. "He doesn't have anything that will stop him …."_

" _But he stopped in the book without having anything either," Bella snapped back at him. "All he had was his curiosity about my silent mind and the fact that he didn't want to disappoint his father … if it was enough then, I've got to believe it will be enough now."_

" _Why do you want to do it this way so much?" Jacob hissed at her this time. "Why do you want to put yourself in this much danger?"_

" _I just do," Bella said stubbornly, not sure why she wanted things to go this way herself, but she thought dimly that it had something to do with wanting him to fend off the monster inside of him by himself. Edward had to know that he could handle being near her without having everyone looking over his shoulder …. Though twelve chapters had gone by in the book and he still didn't completely believe that … and she wasn't sure if he ever would. She still felt like he needed this first step to happen that way._

" _You're impossible," Jacob shook his head._

" _So, are you going to tell your dad about this book?" Bella asked changing the subject. He glared at her, but knew he couldn't do anything to change her mind._

" _No … not now anyway," Jacob said, scratching the back of his neck. "I'm sure Dad wouldn't react well to this at all … of course with your attitude, I have half a mind to …."_

" _I think I'll take this with me," Bella said picking up the book they had just finished reading and Jacob grimaced._

" _Just promise me you'll call me when you get home after school on Monday," Jacob said, knowing already that it was going to be a long wait for him._

" _Of course," Bella smiled at him. "But I'll see you tomorrow, right?"_

" _If you want," Jacob shrugged, but then smiled. "So you weren't just using me for the book after all …."_

" _Of course not, Jake," Bella said."Um … I should be going …. Charlie's expecting me home soon."_

" _Okay," Jacob said. "See you tomorrow, Bella."_

They had gone to the beach … it was an ugly gray color, but he showed her the driftwood fire, it was amazing how the flames were blue … it really was pretty watching the wood burn. Then they went to the tide pools, something she had always loved as a girl. It really didn't matter that it was raining lightly, the aquatic life in the pools were unaffected by the weather.

It had been a nice way to spend the day, but still she couldn't get her mind off of Edward at any time. She had dreamed about Edward both nights since she had finished reading the book and hated that he seemed so foggy and unreal to her. She needed to see him in real life … to know that he really existed. Which just made her all the more anxious to get to school … to meet him.

She had decided to dress in the least appealing and flattering outfit she could. She didn't want to tempt Edward any more than she knew she was already going to … not yet at least. Plus, if the other guys around school thought she didn't look good … that would be fine by her. However, she seriously doubted that this would have any effect on the other boys. After reading the first chapter several times, to make sure that she said all the right things to Jessica and the others before she actually met Edward, it was clear all the boys wanted to look at the shiny new toy. She groaned at that thought, but pushed it aside … she had a lot of other and better things to think of.

She went down to eat her breakfast, not tasting the food at all, and could only manage a nod when Charlie had wished her luck on her first day of school. She was definitely going to need that. Bella looked at the mantle as she walked through the living room. She had taken down all the pictures of her early years … imagine if Edward saw those … she shuddered at that thought.

In no time at all, it was time to leave and she got in the truck … not noticing at all that the object of her thoughts wasn't as far away from her as she thought.

"I really wish we could have gotten her a better vehicle than that," Emmett muttered as they watched the truck roll out of the driveway. He was trying to mask his own excitement, telling himself that he was here to make sure Edward could handle himself when he took in Bella's scent for the first time.

"Me too," Edward said, his eyes were on the truck, his stilled heart almost felt like it was pounding in his chest. It had been impossible staying in Denali, ' _watching_ ' Laurent, when all he wanted to do was see Bella … talk to her. He'd stayed there for a week and a half, and he was convinced that for the time being they didn't have anything to worry about. Laurent was clearly trying to adapt to the new lifestyle, finding it very difficult, but he was trying. Edward had to remind himself how hard it was to not kill without understanding the reason. Laurent hadn't evolved as the rest of the Denalis and Cullens had, believing that humans had a quality about them that was worth preserving, so it would be very hard for him to change his ways.

However, Edward could see that there was nothing malicious in the other vampire's mind; he didn't live for the hunt as he had seen in James and some of the other vampires they had met along the way. And then there was Irina … it was clear that his cousin was a good influence on the nomad and he now knew he had done the right thing. At least most of him knew that, for he could see in their minds … he saw how happy the two of them seemed now that they were around one another.

That was why, though he was happy for them, he had to leave Denali. The forming bond between the two of them just made him long even more for Bella … for the start of their relationship. However, before he left he had a talk with Tanya, who had been acting oddly around him. She always seemed to close her mind when he was around.

" _Edward," she had said that day._

" _Mm …." Edward answered looking up at the stars that painted the cloudless sky. It was brilliant there, but his mind kept going to what Bella would say if she saw this, or what her expression would be. He found that the sky, in all its brilliance, couldn't hold his attention … nothing could._

You seem different Edward, _Tanya thought_ _as she walked near him. "But I just don't know why."_

" _Do I really seem happy?" Edward raised an eyebrow. He didn't think happy was really what he was feeling. He would have said anxious to almost the point where he was miserable … waiting like this was excruciating._

" _Em …." Tanya hummed to him, he could see in her thoughts how closely she was looking at him and was a little surprised to see that they didn't have the normal edge to them … she didn't seem to long for him like she always had in the past. "It's not obvious, of course … it's just like you know what you want to do with yourself now, if that makes any sense."_

" _Oh," Edward said looking at her and she was smiling sadly at him._

" _Now I have a serious question for you," Tanya said, bluntly changing the subject, cutting her thoughts off. "Aren't you missing important classes right now, young man?" she said in a stern voice._

 _Edward's mouth thinned._

" _Esme called … she misses you," Tanya said._

" _Yeah, I have been gone for a long time," Edward said getting up._

" _Don't worry, Edward, I'll keep an eye on Laurent," Tanya said._

" _Thanks," Edward smiled at her and within the hour he had left._

The next thirteen days he had to wait, counting down until she would be there, were just as hard as it had been in Denali. Though, of course, here everyone knew why he was both happy and miserable … and most of the people were feeling the same way. It was also clear to see that everyone was preparing for Bella's arrival. The most noticeable was Jasper. He seemed to have redoubled his effort to not be dangerous to anyone, least of all to Bella. Edward had joined him in this, knowing that his self control around normal humans was perfect, but being around Bella would be an immensely different scenario. So, he hadn't hunted in weeks, and he wasn't going to hunt until right before he met Bella, and that night he was going to hunt until he was way past his limits … hoping that would help.

Then there was Alice. There seemed to be something that she wasn't telling him and he was quite annoyed by that. He wondered if it was anything that he had to worry about. This of course, just made him want to worry more. However, she wouldn't say anything to him about this until one day she snapped at him and said, _'honestly Edward, if Bella was in any danger, don't you think you would be the first to know?'_ He had to admit that was true, he could feel the love that his whole family, and Alice in particular, had for Bella. Still, he had a funny feeling that he wasn't going to like it once he found out whatever it was that Alice was withholding from him.

Then there was only two days left until Bella would be there, in the small house that everyone just happened to know exactly where it was. Everything started to really get crazy. Everyone's nerves started to peak and Alice called a family meeting.

" _What's up, Shortie?" Emmett asked impatiently._

" _Well, it just became quite clear to me that we all need to talk about what is going to happen in a few days," Alice smiled at him, speaking in a crisp voice at human speed._

" _I will only listen to you if you stop doing that," Emmett glared at her, hating when she talked slow, knowing full well that she only did it to annoy him._

 _Alice smirked at him and then said, "I know that you all have been making plans on what is going to happen on your own but it really is time that we talk about this as a family."_

" _Okay, and what do you have in mind?" Edward asked, knowing that she had everything mapped out already._

" _First, no one is to go near the house now," Alice said. "I know, believe me, I know that we all want to see her … but you have to remember that she doesn't know who any of us are."_

" _We know that," Emmett rolled his eyes._

" _… which means we have to let Edward be the one who approaches her first," Alice went on._

" _And you're sure I can handle that?" Edward inquired softly, his mind for the last four weeks had been on plenty of things, but the one thing that never left it was what Bella's scent meant for him. "I'm not sure if …."_

" _Obviously we're not going to just let you go in there without help," Emmett said, patting him on the back. "You can start your stalking a little early this time around …."_

" _My thoughts precisely," Alice said. "You're going to have to go to Bella's room and get used to her scent."_

 _Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He couldn't help but let his worst fear take over him as they talked so causally about this. Not one of them knew how strong her blood was going to be for him … not even he knew that. What if it was strong enough to make him forget everything that he was … everything he had learned?_

Edward, it's going to be okay _, Jasper thought to him, obviously concerned about the direction Edward's emotions were going._

" _I think it would be best if someone was with you while you do that," Alice said cautiously._

" _Yeah, to make sure you won't react like some kind of blood thirsty monster," Emmett laughed._

" _Thanks, Em," Edward groaned, but he did like the idea that someone would be there for him … a reminder to him if he should forget._

" _Does that mean that I get to go with you?" Emmett asked hopefully._

" _Sure," Edward chuckled._

Edward I wanted to go! _Alice shouted in her thoughts._

" _Then you should have said something," Edward smirked at her._

" _You know that was what I was thinking," Alice hissed._

" _Which is why I said '_ said _'," Edward chuckled. "And what about class … Biology class. Do you really think that knowing her scent at that time will be enough?"_

" _Yes, I do," Alice said firmly. "Of course you don't have to believe me. There is nothing saying that you have to meet her the first day if you can't handle the scent."_

" _Did you really have to say that?" Jasper groaned. "Now Edward is all conflicted again."_

" _What is it this time?" Rosalie rolled her eyes. "Dying to meet your beloved Bella, but not wanting to because you're worried that you might be pushing yourself too fast?"_

 _Edward didn't answer, but Rosalie was pretty much right._

" _I also think it's best if you try to stay away from the Swan residence as much as you possible can before you actually meet her."_

" _Why?" Edward asked he wasn't lost enough in his own thoughts to miss the almost amused note in her voice … or was that her thoughts? Why did he have to pick that moment to be caught up in his own thoughts?_

" _Because I don't want you running across Bella's scent for the first time with her in striking distance," Alice said coldly._

 _Her words rang so true and hit the nerve that he had been nursing for so long that he didn't argue with her after that. He would not endanger Bella like that. "Fine, I suppose I really should go hunting now anyway."_

" _That's right," Emmett smiled;_ you've got to gorge yourself on all those mountain lions. Where are we going anyway?

" _What makes you think you're coming with me?" Edward raised an eyebrow._

" _I'm not letting you out of my sight, Eddy," Emmett shrugged._

They had driven to Mount Rainier, taking Emmett's jeep knowing that it would take longer using the car than it was to run, but that was what Edward needed. No, it wasn't what he needed, but if he was going to run, somehow he knew that his feet would take him towards her. Every day it got harder to wait, and knowing it was killing him. After getting more than his fill of mountain lion, and other animals, they started heading back home, getting there just before the sun rose.

This was it, the first day of his new existence. As he got out of the jeep he knew that he had to do it, he couldn't stay away any longer. He lasted much longer than he thought he would, but still he was afraid of the longing he had, afraid that he was going to lose the control everyone praised him for. The worry wasn't enough to make him stop.

"Em …. I've got to go," he said, he didn't want his brother to come with him; he didn't want to have to have a chaperone, but the alternative … the thought of what might happen if he was left alone was painful to think about.

"Then let's go," Emmett said, and they both ran to Bella's house, Edward having to force himself to go at Emmett's pace; he shouldn't outrun his brother this time.

Edward stopped when they got to the edge of the woods where they could see the house. A police cruiser and a beat up truck sat in the driveway. He could feel the faint buzz of a mind that he assumed was Charlie's, after all he wouldn't be hearing Bella's. He listened closely, he could hear two distinct heartbeats coming from the house and it didn't take long for him to distinguish which one had to be Bella's, having known which room was hers. He closed his eyes and just listened to that sound. It was soothing to him, and it was incredible how much that sound already meant to him.

Emmett didn't say anything and as he kept his eye on his brother, trying not to let his thoughts betray that fact. It was impossible, of course. Edward knew that Emmett was watching his every move, not that he was moving, not that Edward gave much thought to that … his mind was on the beautiful sound of Bella's heartbeat. Still, the thought that was clearest in Emmett's head was Bella's safety, and that thought too, was soothing to Edward.

Bella made her first signs of moment as the sun rose, like she knew that this sunrise was somehow different than any other she had experienced before and she wanted to wake early for it. Edward rolled his eyes at his thoughts. _No, she doesn't realize yet what today was. What this sunrise meant._

Edward snorted.

"What is it, Eddy?" Emmett questioned.

"I think I might have become optimistic," Edward smiled.

"Heaven forbid," Emmett chuckled.

Edward chuckled, too, before Bella drew his attention again as he heard her yawn and then get out of bed.

 _You really are going to find endless entertainment watching her sleep, aren't you?_ Emmett thought as Edward could see his face in Emmett's thoughts. He had a serene expression.

"Yes," Edward answered with another smile.

 _I think I'll stick to just watching what she does or says,_ Emmett thought, _too bad Alice wouldn't let me try and switch my gym class … that would have been priceless._

Edward rolled his eyes as Emmett amused himself with what he thought Bella's gym class would be like, of course keeping his eye on Edward the whole time.

"What is she doing?" Emmett wondered hours later. They could tell that she wasn't moving …. at least not moving much, but she hadn't gone back to sleep, her breath wasn't even enough.

"I don't know," Edward said frowning a little, "probably thinking about something."

"Right," Emmett said amused and couldn't stop himself from thinking, _she's thinking about something and you don't know._

"Emmett!" Edward said annoyed. He really was curious about what she was thinking and was just starting to understand how difficult this really was on his book self.

"Bella!" they heard Charlie call from inside the house. Edward read his impatience and nerves, but the thoughts were hard for him to make out. "If you don't get down here soon, you'll be late."

"Coming, Dad," Bella then said, and a smile came to Edward's face as her voice washed over him. It was so sweet to finally be able to hear her voice. It was warm and kind like she was.

"You hear that, Edward … she's coming," Emmett laughed.

"Shut up!" Edward hissed at him, dammit, he really should have taken Alice with him.

It wasn't long after that that he saw Bella for the first time in real life. Though it was impossible for her to see him where he was standing, he almost felt as if she was looking right at him when she first walked out of the house. He could see her eyes, they were the warm brown that he expected to see, and yet there was more to them than he had thought. The pictures in the other peoples' heads could not do them justice; there was so much life in them.

Yes, he would definitely be able to see what she was feeling clearly enough. Take now, for instance, she was worried about something, but had a certain air of determination about her. He wasn't sure what she was determined about. Was that there in the first chapter of the book? He didn't remember that, but perhaps she didn't think about it.

When her eyes moved to her truck he was able to look at her other features. He looked at everything, taking her all in, already making a list of everything he liked. Her expressive eyes were, of course, at the top of that list, along with her heartbeat that he already was sure he could pick out of any crowd.

Once she had driven away, so far away that he could no longer see her, he turned to Emmett. "Let's go." They ran to Bella's house. Edward was holding his breath; he wanted to be bracing himself when he was faced with her scent, making sure that he wouldn't let himself get carried away. When he tried to open the window he noticed that it groaned, it obviously hadn't been opened in many years, he would have to do something about that.

"Wow," Emmett said, he had been breathing normally. _I didn't realize that her scent would be this good …._

"Em, please," Edward said shifting uncomfortably as they moved into her room. He didn't need to hear Emmett's thoughts on the scent, especially since he was so appreciative of it.

"Sorry," Emmett sighed, now trying to block out the fact that it had surprised him how good Bella smelled, with little success. Instead he tried to pick up other scents in the room.

Edward ignored his brother as much as he could as he stood in the middle of the room. Taking a quick look around and noting everything that was in the room. In truth, it was exactly how he had pictured it since he read the books. After he was done cataloging everything, he stilled his body in place, concentrated on not moving a step and took a breath.

It was unimaginable. It was worse than his worst fears. The scent was so much stronger than he could prepare for and the monster that he kept at bay for most of his existence was definitely trying to break free. It was imagining following this scent to where it would find its prey and then …. Edward shivered, and his mind snapped back into its proper place.

The moment the monster had Bella in its sights he felt a pain in him so feral it nearly knocked him to the floor. He stopped breathing then. He could feel her scent still swimming in his head, still tempting the monster within, but the pain was there too.

"Are you okay, Edward?" Emmett asked out loud, he had been thinking it for the last thirty seconds as he watched Edward react to the scent, but Edward couldn't concentrate on his thoughts as the monster raged in him.

"No," Edward said through gritted teeth. The pain was good, it was keeping him rational, but it wasn't enough yet. He had to keep breathing; he had to master this monster … or at least make sure Bella was always in his mind when it was around ….

So Edward took in another deep breath, and this was just as bad as the first. It burned his throat and he knew that no amount of hunting would help him with this new thirst. The venom rose to fill his mouth and he was dying to sink his teeth into something … someone …. _NO! Don't think of that!_

Edward forced himself to picture Bella, whose eyes that he had just seen, those eyes that were anxious but determined. What was she thinking this morning? To his surprise, this curiosity was helping, the monster was not as strong as a moment ago, but it was still growling. Begging him to let it go for just a few seconds. _Never_ , Edward told it and the monster lashed out, by showing himself crouched, ready to spring on those curious eyes ….

Edward's whole body shuddered at that image, as pain and sorrow swept through him again. The monster was losing ground now, his body and mind were starting to reject its whispering, but it wasn't going to go away that easily. "Em … can you get me something of hers?"

Emmett took a deep breath, ran to the closet and took out the article of clothing that had the strongest scent still lingering on it. He handed it to Edward, who was still frozen in his spot in the middle of the room, not daring to take a step. Edward took the shirt that was handed to him, and feeling like the biggest pervert but knowing that it was necessary, held it to his nose and breathed deeply again.

He couldn't believe how much stronger her scent ensnared him, driving him and the monster even crazier than before. Conflicting thoughts fought against him, but they all seemed to want the same thing, they wanted to be near Bella. He concentrated on his better thoughts, of the ones where he was just near her, but he could hear the monster longing for the same thing and that scared him.

Edward stayed there, breathing her scent in, trying to control the monster, and knowing that when he was really near her the scent would be even stronger still, as hard as that was to imagine, he knew it had to be true. Still, after hours of burning in her room, he was sure that he could handle meeting her at least.

"It's almost lunch time," Emmett pointed out. _I don't know if you …._

"Let's go," Edward said, and he turned to leave the house, again going at Emmett's pace, showing his brother that he wasn't some out of control monster.

 _Hm … he seems okay, and I suppose if there really was any threat Alice would be outside the school to meet us_ , Emmett thought as he ran beside Edward, but when he noticed his brother tense he decided to change the subject. "Did you happen to notice the other scents in the room?"

"What?" Edward questioned. "No, I could only smell Bella."

"That make sense, I guess," Emmett said, a passing thought going to the women that had smelled too good to him, but he moved from that thought quickly. "Well, there seemed to have been someone in her room …. I would say two days ago."

"You mean besides Charlie?" Edward asked, a little panicky.

"Yeah," Emmett said, not blaming his brother's panic. "The smell was sort of familiar, but no one I knew …."

"You think it was one of the Quileutes?" Edward asked, stopping as they got to the school's parking lot, slowly emerging from the woods and now walking at a human pace.

"Yeah, I think so," Emmett said. _But clearly it wasn't a wolf …. I don't think even you would have missed that scent._

"Why would one of the Quileutes be there though?" Edward frowned. "And you said two days ago?"

"Yeah," Emmett said. _I don't know, Eddy. Maybe they were just helping Charlie get Bella's room ready for her or something …._

"But there weren't any changes to her room since she was a little girl," Edward frowned, "except the computer … maybe that was it?"

"Sounds plausible," Emmett shrugged as they heard the bell ring for lunch. _Yes, here just in time._

"Right, let's go," Edward smiled at his brother's enthusiasm, but he was starting to think that something else was going on here. Why was there that odd scent in Bella's room? No, he didn't have time to worry about that, he had to concentrate on Bella. He had to make sure he wasn't going to be any kind of danger to her and that was more important than some stray scent.

They sat at their normal table and were soon joined by the rest of their family, every one of them almost as anxious as he was.

"I'd hate to be you, Jazz," Emmett teased in a whisper that no one but them could hear.

Jasper did indeed look more anxious than anyone and it was as if they could all feel him trying, vainly, to calm them down.

"So I take it this means it all went well at Bella's?" Rosalie asked.

"As well as to be expected," Edward answered, suddenly worried that he was pushing himself too hard, he couldn't get the scent out of his head and then Bella walked in the room and he knew it was okay. Because nothing would keep him away from her and he was now forcefully beating that monster down. It would never cause the girl, his Bella, any harm.

 _Yes, yes, this is finally happening_ , Alice screamed in her head, willing herself to stay in her seat. She had been the one to suggest that they should try and keep things normal, and she was the one most tempted to run over to Bella now and act like they were best friends already.

Edward, however, didn't pay attention to his family's reaction to seeing her; they were all similar to Alice, though not as extreme. He hung onto every word she said. Her voice was peaceful to listen to, though he wished that she would say more than she did, he mostly had to listen to Jessica Stanley explain everything to her. He was watching her closely, he would have watched her closely anyway, but somehow he was almost expecting something different to happen this time around, though he knew that shouldn't be the case. However, nothing changed, Bella had asked about them, and he was sure she was noting all the ways they were different, just like she had in the book.

Ah, that was an interesting question, how was Bella going to find out about them in this reality? It wouldn't be safe for anyone for them to tell her, and yet, he longed to tell her himself. Would she run this time? No, not if he waited to tell her until he knew she liked him. And then about the books … He stopped thinking about that again because Bella had spoken again, and he could waste his time on musing about this when she wasn't around.

Yes, everything was quite the same as the way it had gone before, though when Bella mentioned Esme's kindness about adopting them all, there was an understanding there that he didn't think he would hear. And her anger at Jessica's words seemed to be fiercer than he imagined her getting. In that moment he longed to know what she was thinking, the thought was just as overwhelming as her scent had been. It seemed that he really was feeling a watered down version while reading the books and he wondered how much more he was going to love Bella when they finally got to meet.

"What's the matter, Edward?" Jasper asked, he could feel Edward's increasing curiosity and annoyance, and he was as amused as he was nervous about what it might mean.

"It was hard for me to really conceive what this would be like," Edward said. "Reading the books … it was all there, every word of it was hers … and now. Nothing. I have no idea at all. What is she thinking?"

Everyone tried not to laugh at that, with varying degrees of success.

"Well, get used to it!" Emmett boomed out laughing and it was then that the bell rang and it was time. Time for the biggest test of his life.

"You'll do fine," Alice said scanning the future and seeing nothing to suggest that anything bad was going to happen.

"That can change in a second," Edward felt he had to point out.

"I'll be watching closely," Alice promised. "But I honestly think you'll do fine."

"Thanks," Edward said, and walked away toward the Biology classroom. When he got there he waited patiently for her to come, he was holding his breath. As much as he knew he had to get used to the scent, he wasn't going to have it wash over him like it did in the book. No, he was going to wait for the best time.

When she walked into the room her eyes were immediately on him and there was a look like she was expecting something of him and he didn't know what that meant. She was also frowning at him, like something wasn't right about him, but he knew that he wasn't glaring at her like he had been in the book. Perhaps he was letting his longing, happiness, excitement … or a number of other emotions he was feeling show. Normally, he would have thought that he had masked them perfectly, but at least, Bella wasn't normal, and there was no telling what she had noticed.

She talked to the teacher and then walked towards Edward. She kept her eyes down, and she moved kind of stiffly, almost as if she expected him to attack her. She sat in her seat, staring straight ahead, not looking at him again … something which Edward found to be very annoying. Her eyes were the key, after all, if he was ever going to have a hint about what she was thinking he was going to have to see her eyes. He had only one option left to him, and he was happy to use it.

"Hello," Edward said in a calm and friendly tone. Bella stiffened, and Edward could hear that her heartbeat had just picked up. He was pleased by this response and yet it confused him too. "My name is Edward Cullen."

Bella slowly turned to him then; her eyes were confused, as if she couldn't believe that he was talking to her. Did she believe the gossip that he and his siblings didn't talk to anyone? She didn't seem to in the books, but why else would she be looking at him like that?

"You must be Bella Swan," Edward went on, wanting her so desperately to talk to him, to stop staring at him so suspiciously. He even called her Bella, knowing that she would think it odd that he knew not to call her Isabella; of course he also used Bella because it was what he always called her.

The suspicious glance increased and she looked really confused and almost upset about something. "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive." He answered word for word what he had said in the book, smiling wryly, so it seemed like they were going to go straight into their second conversation. Well, that wasn't so bad; at least he hadn't given her death glares … yet. However, he was out of breath, so it was now time to see how strongly her proximity affected her scent.

The burning was again stronger than anything he had ever felt. The venom filled his mouth, and yet the curiosity and all his other feelings for her seemed to keep the worst of it away. Pain, longing, need, they were all there, but he had enough control to stop them from making him move.

She continued to question him about why he used Bella instead of Isabella and he noted that it was almost exactly as she had said in the book and yet the way she said it had to have been different. She didn't look surprised or annoyed at all to hear that the whole town had been talking about her, which Edward found to be really odd. She was supposed to shy away from attention like that. But she was too busy looking at him oddly, seeming to be confused about what was happening. Plus, as she spoke it almost sounded like she was reading a script that she only half remembered.

He wanted to question her about it, ask what was going on, but all he could say was, "oh." After that she turned to the front of the class and it looked like she was thinking about things just as hard as he was. They were both wondering what was going on and finding no answers to explain it.

There was no time in this class for him to talk to her again, Mr. Banner lectured the whole time and all Edward could do was look at Bella, hiding behind her curtain of hair, not moving an inch as if she was wary about what her movements would mean to him. It was unnerving sitting there for that hour. It was like some strange mixture of their first two meetings and he wasn't sure what to do with himself. So he practiced taking in her scent, it wasn't getting any easier, nor was it getting any harder. Still, he wished he would find a way to make this lessen soon.

When the bell rang, Edward nodded towards Bella, he didn't know what else to do and she nodded back, still quite confused, and then he went to Spanish class. He had two questions on his mind: What's going on here and what am I going to do now?

 **A/N: Okay, so that's the first chapter. The next chapter is going to start with what Bella thought during this conversation, and what will happen after that.**


	2. What is Going on Here?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to Sunray16, katmom, and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Two

What is Going on Here?

The day passed by slowly as she walked through all of her classes. She couldn't wait for lunch time, until she could see Edward's face for the first time and she could dispense with the blurry vision she had to use now. She wanted to see his eyes too, though she was afraid of the darkness that would be in them today, and that thought caused her to shiver slightly. Fear … yes that was present too. All day long she was afraid … so very afraid.

What was going to happen when she met him in biology class? Was that the beginning or the end? No, of course it was the beginning. Still, she couldn't stop the questions from filling her mind. Did she make the right choice about what to do about her scent? Would it have been better if she had done something differently?

She was at the cafeteria now, and she had to keep herself from looking at the Cullens' table, for she was well aware that she wasn't supposed to have noticed them until she sat down. How very hard this was going to be, trying to act the part she had set upon herself. What was she thinking? She was horrible at acting. Hopefully she wouldn't change anything.

It was a relief to sit down, for she knew that it was okay for her to look for the Cullens now, and it really wasn't difficult at all to find them. They really were something to look at. She couldn't seem to take her eyes off of them … him. His bronze hair had drawn her attention to him quickly enough, and her heart began to race as she looked at him. In some ways he was just as she had imagined him, though of course all of the wonderful details of his features were clear now, and she couldn't seem to take her eyes off him. "Who are they?"

She was looking straight at Edward when she said this and she saw his head move towards her as she knew it would …. Jessica's thoughts would have called out to him by this point. But she didn't see the bored, dismissive glance she had expected, she thought it looked pleased and eager if anything. That didn't make sense at all, but she didn't really get the chance to look at him because he was clearly talking to his family now.

She tried to listen to what Jessica said, it hadn't been in the manuscript she got and she thought it might be interesting. It turned out that it wasn't really, just something about all the Cullens and Hales dating each other, as if that was anything compared to the truth. She made responses when she knew she should, praying that she was saying what she had in the book. It was difficult however, when Jessica said that she thought that Esme couldn't have children, her tone was so rude. How could anyone talk about that with scorn in her voice? She realized that she was glaring at Jessica, though luckily the other girl hadn't caught it.

Her eyes would keep traveling to Edward's, watching his every move as if he was putting her in a trance. Somehow, even before he looked at her for the second time, she knew something was different. She bowed her head when he looked at her, too embarrassed to keep her gaze and pleased that she hadn't in the book either so she had an excuse to look away. Still, for that second when their eyes had met, see didn't see the blackness that she feared to see, but rather they were golden.

 _What_? The question screamed in her head, _why would Edward have golden eyes this time around?_ Could her getting the book possibly change that or was something else at work here? Perhaps, this had all been some kind of sick joke!

 _No_ , her thoughts screamed to her. _One look at them and you know the book had to be true. Stick with your plan and go on from there._

She was lost in her own thoughts for the rest of lunch, curious about what was going on, but she had made up her mind that she wasn't going to change anything. That was her plan from the beginning and she was sticking to it, though fear was creeping up in her now. She couldn't be sure how he was going to react now and considering what was at stake, she felt she had every right to be wary. The bell rang and she let Angela lead her to class, wishing that she could say something to the girl, act friendly, but her nerves were too on edge to do anything like that.

And then she was standing at the door and she could see him again. Her heart fluttered when she looked at him and she forgot all her worries, everything would surely work out. This lasted only a second, for she then noticed his eyes again and she had to frown. Why was it ominous that his eyes were golden? It should be a good thing. That meant that he wasn't thirsty … it meant that he would have a little more control than he had in the book's meeting, but she couldn't make herself believe that. Something was different here and she wanted to know what it all meant.

She talked to the teacher quickly, hardly hearing what he had to say to her, she just wanted to walk over to Edward and demand to know what was going on. This urge was so strong that she had to constantly remind herself that it could be dangerous … that her plan was to be as still as possible. She didn't look up at him as she made her way to the empty seat next to him; if she did, the little self control she had would have crumbled and as long as she wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not she couldn't risk that. She sat down, still not looking at him though she could feel his eyes on her.

"Hello," a musical voice said and the sound of it was better than she could have imagined. Her heart raced as she listened to it, her body relaxed for the split second before his word had caught up to her brain. Then it hit her again. What was going on here? Why was he talking to her? He should be thinking about killing her right about now … okay so it was a good thing that he wasn't thinking that, but still, this wasn't what was supposed to happen! "My name is Edward Cullen."

She couldn't stop herself from looking at him, she was so confused. His voice was friendly; there was no hostility at all there. His eyes were kind and yet they seemed to be confused too, as if he was puzzled about something. Perhaps he was trying to read her thoughts and was curious about it. Perhaps he hadn't breathed in and didn't know how good she smelled yet.

"You must be Bella Swan," Edward said, and she could hear an almost longing in his voice, but there was a knowing look in his eyes that confused her more than ever and also made her suspicious. This sounded a lot like the first conversation that they were supposed to have in a week, how would he know the words? No, she was thinking too much, he had just listened to what everyone else was thinking and knew that she preferred to be called Bella.

Still, she had to know the truth, and quash the feeling that someone, somewhere, was playing a joke on her. She asked the question, "How do you know my name?"

"Oh, I think everyone knows your name. The whole town's been waiting for you to arrive."

Another word for word copy of the book and she didn't like it. His wry smile didn't help any, was he teasing her? She was expecting him to be hostile, why couldn't she just be happy that he was talking to her … he was being nice. _Because it's not real,_ the logical part of her brain said. _How could vampires be real?_

However, just as she was about to listen to that voice she saw Edward stiffen, his body tensed and there was a faintest trace of what she had expected to see this whole day. His expression darkened and it looked like he was battling with himself.

She wasn't sure what it meant, but she felt this was a sign. She decided just to say what she had said in the book, she hadn't read the second chapter of the book over and over; she had only read it two or three times. She was too worried about this first meeting to think about what would happen in the second chapter, but she was still able to stumble over her explanation. She was happy that she had read the chapter again, though; for there was no way she would have been able to think of anything to say to that. When she was finished, he looked almost as confused as her, and that helped her too. If he was confused, he obviously didn't know what was going on either. She wondered why that made her feel better; it didn't make any sense, but at the same time, it did. After saying 'oh' to her explanation class started and she had time to think about this.

She stilled herself almost subconsciously, as she looked straight ahead, thinking. So he didn't know what was going on, and yet he was using the same script she was. He was taking shallow breaths, his body tense again, and she had a feeling that he was getting used to her. Now that was something new. Did he know what was going on too?

Before she could say anything to him, before she could even open her mouth he was leaving, nodding his head to her, looking like he didn't want to be rude. She did the same automatic nod, still trying to see if it was possible that he knew or if she was just imagining things.

"Hello," a boy said to her, snapping her out of her thoughts and she was face to face with Mike. He was looking at her just as the book had described him looking at her and that made her more than a little uncomfortable. Still, she answered politely back to him, but all the time her mind was on Edward.

She didn't have to do anything in Gym, which she was grateful for. With her mind on Edward, and his peculiar reaction to her, gym would have been even worse than normal and that was saying something. She was now anxious to get to the office, and she was starting to wonder if she would see Edward there or not, trying to get out of biology class like he had in the book. She serious doubted that she would see him, not now that he acted so friendly towards her in the class itself, but she longed to see him again. She wanted to ask him what was going on.

However, he wasn't there, and she had no idea where to find him. She wondered if he was watching her now …. if he really did know what was going to happen like she was starting to think he must (why else would his eyes be golden and he have the eager, hopeful expression she saw at lunch), he would be just as anxious to talk to her again, too. She wished he would just come out and talk to her already, but he didn't and she had to drive back home with plenty of questions burning in her head.

As soon as she was in the house she called Jacob like she had promised she would. He sounded so relieved when he heard her voice that she knew that he must have been worrying about her all day. She tried to explain what had happened at school, but it was hard for her to get the words out right. She decided it would just be easier if she just went to see him. She wanted to get his reaction to all of this in person. However, the real reason she went there was because she knew if she was left to think about this herself she would end up driving herself crazy.

"So what's up, Bella?" Jacob asked, furrowing his eyebrows. "You said things didn't go exactly how you thought."

"No," Bella said, and told him everything that happened, it didn't take too long. "…. and now I think he must have known about the book. Unless this was some elaborate joke someone was pulling on me." She couldn't help voicing the last thing as the logical part of her brain listened to everything she had just said and pointed out everything that was unlikely.

He had a thoughtful expression on his face by the time she had finished. "I talked to Dad," he said after a long pause. "I didn't say anything outright, but from the questions I asked him, it was clear that he believed in our legends. I think he's suspicious that I might know something now too, but whatever …."

"Okay," Bella smiled at him, he had alleviated all her worries with that sentence. Well, not all her worries, now she was dying to see Edward again and wondering how she was going to go about telling him about this.

"There's also something else odd going on around here," Jacob said, sensing her anxiousness and trying to keep her mind off it.

"Something that goes along with the whole supernatural theme?" Bella questioned.

"I think so," Jacob said.

"What is it?" Bella said.

"Well, there's this guy, Sam," Jacob said, "he's a little older than us and some strange things have been happening around him lately. He went missing for a while not too long ago. Everyone was looking for him, and set up search parties for him and all, for all the good it did. He came back on his own, looking terrified of everything. I didn't really see much of him at the time but things have changed around here since then. All the older people started treating him differently, like they valued his opinion … no, more like what he said carried weight in the community.

"He's not the only one that was different though. This guy Jared, he disappeared too, and the next thing, he's best friends with Sam. I know something's going on with them …."

"What do you think it is?" Bella questioned.

"Guess," Jacob said frowning.

"You think they're …." Bella said softly.

"Werewolves," Jacob nodded his head. "I kind of do … it would explain what happened then … maybe I'm putting too much into this, but something weird is happening here."

"Wow, I didn't realize I was going to have to deal with werewolves too," Bella said, sitting down on a chunk of driftwood, she didn't realize it but they had been walking to the beach while they were talking.

"Sorry …. I suppose I chose the wrong topic to distract you with," Jacob sighed sitting down. "I've just … I couldn't get it out of my mind."

"It's okay, Jake, you help me a lot with the whole vampire thing," Bella smiled at him. "So … um … will you become a werewolf too?" she tried to sound like she was joking, but couldn't quite pull it off.

"Probably," Jacob shrugged. "It would explain why you like me … didn't you say something about not being able to fit with people?"

"Argh," Bella groaned and rolled her eyes and Jacob chuckled.

"So what are you going to do about your bloodsucker?" Jacob asked, though his tone was playful.

"Bloodsucker? What happened to calling him Edward?" Bella raised an eyebrow.

Jacob just shrugged.

"I'm not sure," Bella groaned. "Argh, I hate that I have to wait until lunch tomorrow before I can even see him! I want to just go to him … tell him I know and all that …."

"I'm still voting for you going to Alice," Jacob said.

"But …." Bella said; she wanted to talk to Edward.

"Better safe than sorry, right?" Jacob looked at her pleadingly.

Bella sighed and then looked at him. "How would I even get to talk to Alice anyway? Should I just walk to the Cullen table …?" at this Bella looked thoughtful, she could do that. Then she thought of Rosalie and Jasper, and shivered a little. She didn't have the guts to look either of the Hales in the eyes during lunch, though she hadn't expected them to look at her, she was a little terrified of how they would feel about her.

"I don't know," Jacob shrugged. "I still think all you have to do is think about it and the little vamp will be on your doorstep."

O

Edward paid little attention to his Spanish class, he didn't even listen to his brother's questions, though they were being screamed at him by the annoyed vampire. His mind was analyzing every difference that happened today and how it happened. Yes, he was planning on things being different, but mostly that stopped with giving her death glares. He was hoping that he would be able to talk to her, but she was so confused. Why was she so confused, and suspicious?

"Edward!" Emmett said out loud as the bell signaled that school was over.

"Hm …?" Edward said in a daze voice.

 _What's the plan now? Are you going to be stalking her again? Can you handle it alone? How was your meeting with Bella anyway? You've been so out of it …._

"It was … different," Edward said slowly. "And I don't know what I'm going to do now."

"Really?" Emmett said. "Argh, what happened?

"Come on, let's go to the car," Edward said getting up and dragging his confused brother along with him. He knew everyone was going to react like Emmett and he didn't feel like explaining this over and over again. Everyone, however, was surprised to see him in the car when they showed up.

 _I didn't think he would have been able to keep himself away from her,_ Jasper thought as he got in, and then noticed the confusion flowing off of Edward and immediately tried to relax him.

"Thanks," Edward sighed, it was nice to have everything dulled a little.

"What happened?" Jasper asked.

"I'm not sure, nothing really, she was just …. I don't know how to explain it," Edward shook his head; he was speeding towards their home.

Emmett started chuckling. "I bet you thought you had all the answers when it came to Bella because you got those books … how do you like finding out that you're clueless in this reality?"

Edward growled at him as everyone else chuckled.

"That's not it," Edward snapped at them. As soon as they got to their house, he was out of the car running.

"Um … we don't have to worry about him, do we?" he could hear Emmett say as he went.

"I'm keeping an eye on everything," Alice said, and Edward could see that she was, as a vision of him going to the meadow flickered. Yes, he would go there, it was his favorite place to think and he still had a few things he wanted to go over on his own.

Once he got to the meadow, however, he found that he was too anxious to think there. He also couldn't help thinking about Bella being in this meadow with him, and that only made the longing to be near her increase. He took out the hair band he had taken with him when he left Bella's room. It still had some of her scent on it, though it was weak now because he had handled it so often. Still, even in this weakened state it made his throat burn.

He forced himself to stay in the meadow, closing his eyes as he went over everything that happened today. He could see her reaction as clearly as he did at the time; though this time he thought he detected subtle differences. Her quickened heartbeats, her almost hopeful glances, where they just tricks his memories were playing on him …?

 _Argh, five minutes, I can't even be here for five minutes_ , Edward thought as he got up, he had to go to her, he had to be near her, listen to her heartbeat. He wondered if he should call Emmett or Alice, but he shook his head. He was confident enough in himself now to know that he wasn't about to hurt her. He had been fine during the biology class after all, though on second thought he didn't want to be careless. He supposed he would have to hold his breath when he got near the town, that way he wouldn't be tempted, and he could still get close to her.

However, everything changed when he got to her house a few minutes later. Her truck wasn't there, and he couldn't hear her heartbeat anywhere around. Where was she? Maybe she went to the store … she wasn't supposed to do that until tomorrow, but maybe the difference in their meeting had caused her to go shopping early? Well, that wouldn't be the strangest twist of the day.

He ran to the shop she was supposed to be at, but still there was no sign of her truck. Where was she? Had he lost her already? His mind went immediately to all of the troubles that happened to her in the books, especially the trouble she seemed to have drawn to her in the first book. He was in total panic mode now as he searched the whole town for her, as the similarities to what happened in Port Angeles crossed his mind and he cringed at the thought that something like that could possibly be happening. How could he have let her out of his sight?

 _Edward, you have to relax,_ Alice voice rang in his head as he stood in the woods, just about ready to track Bella scent.

"Where is she, Alice?" Edward asked in a loud voice, she was still pretty far away from him.

 _She's safe_ , Alice thought and Edward looked at her, he could see her coming towards him now and there was something about how she thought that that made him think she knew more than she was saying. He could also feel her blocking him.

"Alice!" Edward hissed at her. "What are you keeping from me?"

"Um …." Alice said, now standing in front of her very livid brother. "I'm sorry, Edward, I didn't realize you would react this way when she was gone."

"But you know where she went?" Edward said.

 _Of course I know where she went_ , Alice thought, though she was careful not to think of the place. Edward glared suspiciously at her at that. Her thoughts were particular hard to understand as she thought so many things to try and keep him out. "Well you stop trying to read my mind!"

"Will you tell me what's going on?" Edward snapped back at her. "You know why she was acting strangely today in class, don't you!"

"I might," Alice smiled at him, a little amused, she was thinking about the vision she had seen of their meeting. He could hear how amused she was by all this and he glared at her. "Honestly Edward, I'm surprised that you haven't figured out what's going on already."

"ALICE!" Edward snarled at her impatiently.

"Didn't it ever occur to you that if you got the books that she might have gotten one, too?" Alice said slowly, watching him as the words brought meaning to him.

He froze, his eyes widened, and he stayed like that for several seconds with his mouth slightly open. No, he never did think of that. "She knows …." he finally whispered softly.

 _She knows_ , he repeated the words in his head, _she knows_! He didn't have to worry about what she would think when she finds out that he's a vampire because she already knows. And that was why she was so confused today, because she had been expecting him to …. That thought stopped his excitement on the spot. She knew what her scent did to him. That was why she was so still. Was she afraid of him? How did she know?

"I don't know how much she knows, of course," Alice went on as she watched Edward's expression go back and forth between being relieved and back to confused.

"Why didn't you say anything?" Edward asked; he wasn't sure what to think now so his voice didn't portray any emotions.

"The first vision I had about this was while you were still away, thankfully," Alice said, she knew that Edward would have reacted badly if he had seen what she had then: Bella and Jacob reading in her bedroom, seeming to be getting along rather nicely. She herself wasn't sure how she felt about that, however she had decided to let it carry on. She did this for two reasons, one she felt as if Bella had the right to know, just as much right as they had to read about her, at least. The second reason was it was a nice way for Bella to have found out the truth about them without actually having to tell her. Alice thought of none of this as she was standing in the woods explaining this to Edward. She had to tell him about Jacob in just the right way and still, she was sure that Edward was going to want to strangle the mutt when he found out. "I was surprised, of course, but I thought it was best to just let this happen. Don't you agree that it was only fair that she knew about us, as we already knew so much about her?"

"Yes," Edward nodded his head; that really was understandable to him. "But it doesn't explain why you didn't tell us."

"I thought about it, Edward, for a long time," Alice said, this was true. "While you were gone and Jazz was busy working with Carlisle, I thought about this. I knew that if you had known that she got here early …."

"She was here early?" Edward said, shocked at first and then he glared at his sister. "You know how much I wanted to see her!"

"Which is why I couldn't tell you she was here!" Alice shouted back at him. "You would have gone and seen her … you would have watched her. She deserved to have a chance to read this in privacy."

"So you didn't go and watch her at all?" Edward questioned, scornfully.

"No," Alice said, and quickly went on before she could think that she couldn't even if she wanted to, "though of course I saw some of the decisions she made while she read."

"Oh," Edward said, curious and anxious again.

Alice chuckled at his expression; _yes you would be interested in that, wouldn't you?_

He glared at her.

"Like I said before, I don't know how much she read, I couldn't see that, but I know she decided to meet you, that she wanted to meet you," Alice smiled kindly at him this time.

"Right," Edward said, he felt dizzy just hearing that and he wanted to run to Bella right now, talk to her about everything, but of course, he didn't know where she was at the moment. "You still haven't explained why you didn't tell me that she knew this morning."

"She decided that she wanted things to play out like they had in the book," Alice shrugged. "I … um … liked the idea …."

Again Edward saw their meeting in Alice's memories of her vision and he could see she was trying hard not to laugh.

"You know, I'm not the only one that was talking in that conversation, Bella might have liked it if she knew that she didn't have to be terrified of me!" Edward snapped.

"Look, Edward, I think she had her reasons for wanting what she did and I felt I had to respect that," Alice said.

Edward snorted and Alice rolled her eyes.

"Besides, Bella is much quicker on the uptake than you are!" Alice smirked at him.

"What?" Edward asked what was Alice talking about now?

"She figured out that we must have gotten the books too, and she is planning on either confronting you about it tomorrow or coming to see me," Alice smiled at him. "I was thinking that perhaps we might want to pay her a visit a little early."

"I might like that," Edward said, and couldn't help the smile that came to his face. "But I don't see why you have to be there."

"Well …." Alice said, biting her lip nervously. "You see, she's not going to be there alone."


	3. What Am I Going to do Now?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom, and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Three

What Am I Going to do Now?

Bella drove up to her house with Jacob, having somehow lured him there after telling him what she was planning on making for dinner. She wasn't quite sure how she came to be inviting him over, but figured it didn't really matter. Again, she didn't want to be alone for too long, because then all she would have to do was think about Edward and how anxious she was about seeing him again.

It was now about four thirty and Charlie had promised to be home around five thirty. Bella felt it would be kind of nice if she had dinner ready then. So she got to work as soon as they got into the house, Jacob chatting to her from the kitchen table. She was able to finish her preparations and placed the meal in the oven when there was a knock at the door.

"I wonder who that could be." Bella asked frowning. She didn't really know anyone yet, except for Jacob, but since he was in the kitchen it couldn't have been him. Her heart started beating fast as she walked to the door, she didn't think it could be him, but she really, really was hoping it would be Edward standing outside the door. So, with this in mind, she was completely shocked when she saw him, standing there with his bronze hair damp from the rain and his golden eyes meeting hers. This time there was no confusion, just a shared look of awareness. He was watching her with awe, she could feel her heart race even faster than before and she wasn't sure if she was breathing anymore.

"Bella!" Alice said, having waited a whole minute with as much patience she could manage, but she couldn't wait a second more. "It's so good to see you," she added and then hugged the stunned girl.

"Alice," Bella gasped looking at her with shock, but soon she was smiling. "It's nice to see you too …." but she couldn't keep her eyes off of Edward, not with him standing right there. "Edward."

Edward's lips curled upwards at the sound of his name on her lips, he liked the way it sounded. "Bella," he said, his eyes boring into her and it took her breath away. It was so different from the last time, when she was talking to him in class. Then she had been confused and he seemed to be trying to mask his feelings for her, but he wasn't doing that now. He was looking at her and she could read the intensity of the feeling he had for her clearly on his face.

"Remember to breathe, Bella," Alice said, she had a flickering vision of Bella passing out, and Edward chuckled at that.

"Right," Bella smiled at her sheepishly, "do you want to come in?"

"Ah, not worried about inviting vampires into your house I see," Alice chuckled.

"Nope, I know that wouldn't stop you," Bella said, "at least I know that Edward can climb into my window without any invitation."

"Huh?" Edward stammered a little shocked as he thought about earlier today, but he realized a little too late that she was probably talking about something she had read in the book … or was it books? How much did she know? He could see Bella raise an eyebrow at him, probably questioning his reaction to this, but he couldn't say anything because something else caught his attention.

 _I should probably just leave, I doubt Bella will mind at all,_ Jacob thought. He was sitting at the kitchen table and it was clear that he was nervous. Edward couldn't stop the scowl that came to his face, even though he was trying to keep calm. He tried to remember what Alice had just told him twenty minutes ago, but it was difficult at the moment.

" _What do you mean she's not going to be alone?" Edward asked, he was looking at his sister with suspicious eyes, he wasn't going to like this at all. "Who's with her?"_

" _Um …." Alice was trying to think of the best way to say_ Jacob _. Oh, the problems talking to a mind reader, they can hear what you think when you try to come up with the best explanation._

" _SHE'S WITH THE MUTT!" Edward growled._

" _Edward!" Alice grabbed his arm before he ran off and did something incredibly stupid. "Relax."_

" _Relax!" Edward hissed. "You want me to relax after you said she was with_ him _!"_

" _They're just friends, Edward," Alice said._

" _I've heard that one before!" Edward growled again._

" _Edward, if you go in there acting like a jealous jerk you're just going to push her away before you even get to know her," Alice said coldly._

 _Edward didn't say anything to that as he took a deep breath to control himself, but it wasn't easy. The anger he was feeling now was almost uncontrollable, and he could feel the monster that was woken up earlier today was now trying to break free. It was mad that he wasn't going for the prey it so desperately wanted and now it was using his anger as fuel. It wanted to tear his enemy up, make sure that he would never have to deal with any of the crap that happened in the books … just like he had gotten rid of the nomad threat._

No, this was different, _Edward's rational side said, though it, too, was enjoying the thought of getting rid of the wolf once and for all. He was still trying to take deep, calming breaths; they weren't working much, when he said, "How did this happen, Alice? How does she even know him?"_

" _They read the book together," Alice said simply._

 _Edward was glaring at her again. "And you just let that happen!"_

" _I wasn't sure what to do, which wouldn't have terrified Bella," Alice sighed. "I mean if I went there … Edward it wouldn't have been better."_

 _Edward was shaking his head, his eyes closed. "How could this be better?"_

" _Trust me, Edward, everything is going to work out okay," Alice said pleadingly._

" _You don't know that … you couldn't have seen something like that," Edward grimaced at her._

" _No," Alice said. "But I did see that they would be friends."_

 _Edward growled at that._

" _And I didn't think it was right to take away her friendship without considering her feelings," Alice said. She had given some thought to going to the post office and redirecting this package so it would show up on Bella's doorstep once she got to Forks, but she couldn't do that. For one thing, she had a vision of Bella being crept out by the book at first if she had read it alone, and she couldn't see what would happen after that._

" _Why would she react differently with the mutt there?" Edward huffed, but he didn't really like the expression the Bella in Alice's vision had._

" _I think it would have been harder for her to accept that the book was real," Alice shrugged. "I mean think about it. Getting a book that tells you that vampires, along with mind readers and psychics, are real … it's a lot to take in. And then she finds out that it's about her …."_

 _Edward's growl this time was more out of annoyance than anger. "Why did it have to be him?"_

" _I suppose it was a non-threatening way for her to read the book and know it was true," Alice sighed. "I don't know, Edward, I just knew that I had to let this happen."_

 _Again, Edward was shaking his head, as he imagined taking the wolf apart piece by piece._

" _But, Edward you really don't have to worry about that, they are just friends," Alice said. "And everything she is planning has you in it."_

 _Edward grimaced. Alice always knew just what to say to get him to come around, but he wasn't going to let that calm him down this time. "I just didn't want to deal with him now!"_

" _I know," Alice sighed._

" _I thought I would be able to at least talk to her before this issue came up," Edward hissed bitterly and then he was thoughtful. "How could he stand reading about this though? He hates us! He would have told Bella that we where dangerous monsters … how could she want to meet us?"_

" _I was worried about that too," Alice said, "but this is the pup before he transformed … he's not angry at us for all that we have supposedly done to him. I suppose he won't blame us like he did in the book. In truth this might end up helping us … we might have a better relationship with the wolves."_

 _Edward glared at her; like he cared about that._

" _And this way Carlisle can tell Jacob about Harry Clearwater's heart attack and he will believe him," Alice continued on, knowing full well that Edward didn't really want to hear about this now, all he cared about was the relationship Bella would have with Jacob. "Don't you see how things might be better this way?"_

 _Edward didn't answer; he was still mad. All he wanted to do now was go and see Bella._

" _I can't let you go now, Edward," Alice sighed; she could see that if she did Edward was not going to react well at all._

 _Edward sighed and leaned against one of the trees he was standing next to. "I'm going to have to act nice to that mutt, aren't I?"_

" _Yes," Alice sighed, the vision seemed to becoming more applicable at that statement._ That's better but she's really not going to like all the anger you have towards her friend … How do I fix that … hm … oh. _"Edward … does it help if I tell you that he doesn't have any plans on making a move on her … that he's decided to just be her friend?"_

" _Which means that he would want to be more," Edward growled and Alice rolled her eyes._

" _There's just no winning with you," Alice said. "Come on, I guess we can go now … just don't say anything stupid, Edward, because if you ruin this, so help me …."_

" _I promise," Edward said, "and you don't have to threaten me … if I ruin this, nothing you could do would be as bad as that."_

" _True," Alice said, and a second later they were knocking on Bella's door, Edward bracing himself for seeing her again by taking in a deep breath, tasting her scent on his tongue and feeling the burn that came with it._

Bella was looking at Edward; the hostility in his eyes shocked her, especially since he was looking off into space. However, when she followed his line of vision she could see that he was looking at the kitchen. She realized that Edward must be listening to Jacob's thoughts, and she was a little worried about what was going on there.

 _Edward, stop glaring,_ Alice said, _you're creeping Bella out._

Edward eyes flickered and he noticed that Alice was quite right, and he sighed.

"I guess you've noticed that Jacob is here," Bella said and as if on cue he came out of the kitchen, looking a little scared, but trying to hide it.

"Hi," Jacob said almost shyly. _What the hell should I do? This is really awkward, and that guy Edward seems to be looking at me like I'm his enemy … oh crap, he can hear what I'm thinking … damn, damn, damn, why couldn't I be mentally mute like Bella is …_.

"Sorry," Edward said, crossing his arms and scowling at the floor. Jacob's mind wasn't exactly how he had imaged it would be. He wasn't hearing any of the hostility he thought was sure to be there. _I suppose Alice was right, he doesn't have the anger he would have gotten after the transformation._

"Um …. Am I missing something?" Bella questioned looking between Edward and Jacob with a raised eyebrow.

"Probably not, knowing you," Edward smiled at her, he was now out of the breath he had taken before entering the house and he took a shallow one. The burn was still rather painful and he could feel the monster stirring in him.

Bella blushed at his comment and bit her lip. Why did she have to be so nervous right now? She knew exactly how he felt about her, but she couldn't seem to make herself relax.

"I just wasn't expecting Jacob to be here," Edward said. "Of course that wasn't the only thing that caught me off guard today … you had me really confused the whole day," he added trying to make her feel at ease. He could see she was anxious, her palms were sweating, her heart was beating awkwardly and she was having trouble breathing. He was worried about her, of course, but he couldn't help but smile at how much he seemed to be affecting her.

"You weren't the only one," Bella forced herself to say and then she looked into his eyes, his golden eyes that were wide and kind and seemed to be looking at her in awe again. It was amazing what looking into those eyes did to her. She forgot her nerves and all her worries seemed ridiculous now, because he was looking at her and she knew that everything was going to be okay.

Edward was caught off guard by looking into her eyes. He could see the anxiousness melt from her as their eyes met and he knew that he could spend hours just looking into eyes like these. Everything in the world was right when he was looking in her eyes. However, he could hear Alice's impatience and Jacob's continuing thoughts that he should leave and he looked away from Bella a little annoyed. He heard Bella sigh when he looked away and he smiled. He wondered if he had just dazzled her … well if he had, then he was certainly dazzled as well.

"Your psychic doesn't seem very good if she can't even see that Bella would know this," Jacob snorted.

"Oh, our psychic works just fine," Edward said shooting a glare at Alice. "She just decided it was best not to tell me any of this."

Alice stuck her tongue out at him. "What would have been the fun if you knew what was going to happen?"

"You knew I got a manuscript?" Bella said incredulously. "And you let me worry about the first meeting this whole time."

"Um … I was going along with your plan," Alice shrugged.

"I only made that plan because I didn't know he knew about me," Bella groaned.

"Why did you decide to do this anyway, Bella?" Edward asked, not looking at her but at the floor; he was ashamed of voicing this out loud. "When you knew that I wanted … what I wanted to do."

"Well … um … I don't know," Bella said softly and then added even quieter, so Jacob couldn't hear her (not that that was her intention she just couldn't seemed to make herself speak any louder), "I thought it was something that you had to handle on your own …."

"Oh, Bella," Edward shook his head, "didn't you realize that you were risking your life …."

"I didn't think so," Bella said, "I don't think you could hurt me …."

Edward rolled his eyes, and then, still looking at the floor, he started to chuckle. She was going to be just as ridiculous about that as she was in the book.

"I don't see what's so funny about that," Bella pouted.

"No, you wouldn't," Edward said still chuckling. "Well, sorry to disappoint you but I familiarized myself with your scent before I met you … I wasn't about to leave things up to chance … not with something this important."

"I wasn't leaving anything up to chance," Bella huffed, and then she narrowed her eyes. "And just how did you familiarize yourself with my scent?"

Edward just smiled at her.

"You've already let yourself into my house, haven't you?" Bella said she was really glad that she had taken down those pictures of herself from the mantle already.

"I might have," Edward chuckled. "I'm guessing Jacob was the extra scent that Emmett found in your room …."

"Emmett was here too!" Bella started to blush, somehow that made her more embarrassed than it did with just Edward.

"Well, Edward needed a bodyguard in case your scent was too much for him," Alice explained. "Edward spent more than four hours trying to desensitize himself to you."

 _Well, at least one of them was being sensible, I can't believe Bella really thought it would be okay to just go there. How could I have let her do that? Oh well, it worked out okay,_ Jacob was thinking. _Oh crap. I'm really going to have to work on trying to hide my thoughts._

"Um … Bella, I think your dinner is going to burn soon," Alice said, breaking everyone's thoughts, "and your dad is going to be here in five minutes."

"Are you leaving?" Bella questioned.

"Well, it would probably look odd if we were here," Alice sighed, "especially since we don't even have a car here."

"Oh," Bella sighed. She didn't want Edward to leave yet, she hadn't even had time to talk to him. She had so many questions to ask him, and though she knew that she would have forever to do that, she still wanted to get started as soon as possible.

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again soon," Edward smiled at her, _as soon as you're alone and I can really talk to you_ , he added in his head but he didn't want to say it out loud. He saw Alice's vision then, about he and Bella talking in her room in a few hours time and he smiled; so it wasn't going to take that long.

"Okay," Bella sighed and she wasn't sure what she should do now.

Edward just kept looking at Bella until he could hear the cruiser pulling up into the driveway. The next few hours being away from her was going to be difficult, but he was going to give her some privacy, besides, he had to talk to his family. He gave Bella one last smile as the front door was about to open and then he was gone.

Bella looked at the spot that Edward had just been in with wide eyes. It was one thing hearing about how fast he was, it was another to see him just disappear like that.

"Wow," Jacob said, "they really are fast!"

"Yeah," Bella said, still a little shocked.

"Bella," Charlie said when he saw his daughter, and then he noticed the other person in the room, "Oh hey Jake, didn't expect you to be here."

"Sorry, Charlie, but Bells told me what she was planning on making for dinner and I couldn't resist," Jacob shrugged.

"That's understandable," Charlie chuckled and soon the three of them were eating.

 _So that went better than I thought,_ Alice smiled as she and Edward ran towards their home. _You didn't attack Jacob at least._

"He wasn't as bad as I expected," Edward was forced to admit, "but I'm going to keep an eye on him."

"Of course you are," Alice shrugged. "And I suppose that means I'm going to have to keep an eye on him, too."

"That would be nice," Edward said a little crossly, "and if you do a better job than …."

"I'm going to get yelled at enough about this, I don't need more from you at the moment," Alice moaned at him.

Edward smirked. "I knew I wasn't going to be the only one annoyed about this."

"Shut up, Edward!" Alice hissed as they ran into the house. Edward could hear the rest of his family in the kitchen and their thoughts were very nervous. They hadn't missed how Alice had run out of the house when she had seen him panicking over Bella's unknown location. "It seems that you have everyone in a panic."

"Hm …. I should have let them know that it was okay," Alice sighed, knowing that was just going to make them worry more than they should have been. It was going to make things worse when they all found out that she had had a vision about Bella coming here early and reading a book with Jacob.

"Yes, you should have thought about that before," Edward smirked, having no sympathy for her at the moment.

"Alice … Edward … is everything okay?" Esme fretted.

"Everything's fine," Edward smiled at her. "Just things happened differently than I thought they would."

"Okay," Esme sighed and then give Alice one of her stern glares. "You know you had us all worried … we weren't sure what we should do!"

"I'm sorry," Alice sighed, meaning it. "I just didn't have time to tell you what I saw, and then … well, I was too busy dealing with Edward to think about how you all might have reacted to this."

"It's okay, Alice, we understand," Carlisle said in his soothing voice and it seemed that everyone was relaxing, though she knew that had more to do with Jasper.

"Okay, so Shorty had us all worried for a moment there, but now that's all past, can you tell us what happened?" Emmett asked anxiously.

"Hm … well I got a vision of Edward panicking when he found that Bella wasn't home and he couldn't find her anywhere in town," Alice said and Emmett and Jasper both started to chuckle at that.

 _Man, Eddy, you really like to worry don't you?_ Emmett thought.

"You would, too, if you kept on thinking about all the trouble Bella had gotten into," Edward snapped at him and then he looked at Alice and hissed, "why don't you tell them what you've been keeping from us."

Everyone looked at her with curious eyes, _oh thanks for that, Edward!_

"Alice," Carlisle said, softly.

"Um … I sort of had a vision of Bella a few weeks ago," Alice said warily as everyone narrowed their eyes at her, seeming to be waiting for her to finish. "About her … um … about her reading a …."

"Wait, are you saying that she knows about us?" Emmett asked excitedly, and not waiting for her to finish. Alice nodded her head, happy for this kind of diversion while it lasted. "That's brilliant! That means we can talk to her … like now!"

"Oh, that is good," Esme said. _I didn't know if I could have waited to meet her for however long it took Edward to bring her over. I'm still going to have to wait though, aren't I? It's not like he could bring her over tomorrow, could he? Oh, I hope it's soon …._

"I'll see what I can do about that," Edward smiled at her and she smiled back.

"Why didn't you tell this sooner, Alice?" Rosalie asked, glaring at her suspiciously. _Why would she keep something like that from us and why does she seem like she's nervous about our reaction to this? And, Edward, why are you smug and annoyed … what's going on?_

"I wanted to make sure she had privacy while she read," Alice said.

Jasper frowned at that. That wasn't the reason, if it was she would have told him at the very least, but when he caught her eye, he could tell that she needed him to make sure everyone was relaxed … and with a glance at Rosalie he knew that he should mostly concentrate on her. He sighed, and then did what she wanted.

"Alice," Edward warned in a tense voice and Alice sighed.

"Um … and she kind of … er … didn't read the manuscript alone," Alice said evasively as Edward glared at her impatiently. "She sort of read it with … Jacob."

Dead silence filled the room for a full second before Rosalie growled, "WHAT?"

Emmett started chuckling, _ah, this should make things interesting._

"This is not funny!" Rosalie snapped at him before turning back to Alice. "How could you allow her to become close to that mutt?"

"I …." Alice started.

"How the hell are we supposed to keep him away now?" Rosalie continued to yell, _now the idiot's probably going to imprint on Renesmee as soon as she's born again and we're going to have to put up with the freaking mutt for the rest of time … argh!_

Edward frowned, he hadn't thought about that earlier, concentrating on the more pressing matter of how this would affect his relationship with Bella. He couldn't help but get angrier by what Rosalie had just reminded him of. This was going to be difficult to deal with to say the least.

"And why the hell didn't you bring this up to us?" Rosalie continued to rage. "Something as big as this, should have been discussed! Our family isn't supposed to have secrets like this!"

"I'm sorry," Alice said. "But I went over all the options and this one seemed to be the best … if I had told the family it would only have made things more chaotic."

Rosalie growled at her and Edward glared, and Alice just knew that she was lucky that she a) had already talked to Edward about this on her own so he wasn't as angry as he would have been and b) told Jasper to send a relaxing wave towards Rosalie because even with that help, Rosalie looked ready to kill.

"You might have a point," Carlisle said in his calming voice, a voice that was almost as soothing as Jasper's affect on people. "It would have been nice to have been warned, but things might end up better this way."

Rosalie groaned, and shifted her glare to Carlisle.

"I know you don't like this," Carlisle sighed, "but considering the fact that you and Edward would probably have forcefully put a stop to a meeting like this between Bella and Jacob, I can see why Alice wouldn't come and tell us about this …."

"You say that like that's a bad thing," Rosalie grumbled. "The mutt caused us nothing but trouble."

"Rosalie, how could you say that?" Esme reprimanded to her. "Jacob did a lot for our family and Bella."

"Yeah, whatever," Rosalie rolled her eyes. "But most of that crap was because Edward was acting like an idiot and we all know he's not going to do that now."

"Rose, I know that you're not going to like this, but I honestly think this might be good," Carlisle said. "If we could establish a relationship with the Quileutes it would make living here easier."

"You just want to hear all the Quileutes legends in person and find out more about the wolves, don't you?" Emmett teased, he was chuckling again.

Carlisle had a smile that clearly said the thought had crossed his mind, but it wasn't the only thing he was thinking about.

"I don't like this any better than you, Rose, but there's nothing we can do about it now," Edward groaned. "And …." he added reluctantly, "he's not as bad as I would have thought … I think we're just going to have to learn to deal with him."

Rosalie groaned at that and left the room.

"Well, this part isn't going to be as much fun," Emmett sighed and then followed after her.

"Aw," Alice sighed as she saw her computer and dresser getting wrecked and knew she didn't have time to stop it. Edward chuckled at that and she glared at him, _that's not funny!_

"So what's going to happen now?" Jasper asked as they could all hear the crash from Alice's room.

"What was that?" Esme said, glaring in that direction.

"Nothing that I can't replace," Alice sighed, "anyway, I believe the next step is for Edward to go see Bella again … at least that was what you were planning on doing, right, Edward?"

"Yes," Edward said and smiled just at the thought about seeing her again. He looked at the clock, and groaned when he saw it had only been fifteen minutes since he left the house. How long was he going to have to wait before she was going to be alone? He wanted to have a real conversation with her, without having anyone else's thoughts interrupting him.

"Don't you think she would find it odd if you suddenly appear there?" Jasper asked furrowing his brow and distinctly feeling as if he was missing something important. "I mean, just because she has read the book doesn't mean that she wouldn't be scared if you just suddenly appeared."

"Honestly, Jasper, who knows what Bella would do if I just suddenly appear in her room?" Edward chuckled. "But I'm sure she would have done something that neither one of us would have expected."

Jasper chuckled at that too, "you're probably right … but you haven't told us everything yet, have you?"

"No," Edward said, "Alice and I went to see her after Alice told me about Bella knowing about us." He smiled, thinking about talking to Bella this afternoon, it was so different than he was expecting. He never thought that he could be this open with her so fast and he couldn't wait to talk to her again … argh … only another minute had passed. How was he supposed to stay away any longer?

"Of course you did," Jasper said, "and I can feel that things went well during that meeting. Though I could do without the panic attack you're having right now."

"Shut up," Edward growled at him as Jasper chuckled. "And to be honest, I don't know if she knows that I'll be there or not."

"I'm sure she's just waiting for you," Alice smiled at him. "She's planning on dropping Jacob off at his home after dinner … if you give her an hour I'm sure she'll be waiting for you."

"An hour," Edward groaned.

"I don't think I can take this," Jasper echoed his feeling.

 _You could always tell me everything that happened today between you two,_ Esme was unable to keep herself from thinking. _Or you can play her lullaby on the piano …._

"I think I'll do that," Edward said, moving over to the piano. He hadn't played it much during the time he was waiting for her because it made him think of her too much, but right now it should be okay, because he knew that he would be with her in an hour … argh … he was going to have to wait an hour!

As soon as his fingers hit the keys, the lullaby that he thought of while reading the book came back to him, though he only played it that one time. However, that wasn't the only time that it had gone through his head, he could hear it whenever he was thinking about her. Playing that song relaxed him just enough that he was able to think about all the things he wanted to talk to her about.

 **A/N: I'm sorry about last week's cliffhanger, it was just when I got to that line it screamed to me,** _ **that's the end of the chapter**_ **. I'm not sure if this is a cliffhanger or not, all I know is that I had a conversation in my head with Bella and Edward talking about everything and it just won't come to me as I wrote this. I'm hoping that it will come next week, this is an important conversation and I know it's in my head somewhere. Anyway, I added the talk with the family at the end because the chapter was short and I thought everyone would like to know what they were thinking.**


	4. Alone at Last

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom, and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Four

Alone at Last

Edward was at her house before she had returned from dropping off Jacob. He couldn't seem to make himself wait at his house any longer with having to hear all of his family's thoughts on Bella along with his own. So, he left early and now he was trying to decide what the best way of doing this would be. He didn't want to scare Bella when she first saw him. One thing was clear at least: he had to make sure the window didn't groan when he opened it. He quickly dealt with that, and since he was there, he thought it was best to familiarize himself with her scent again. Not that he could ever forget it, but the concentration in the room almost made his head spin again with the power of it. He groaned; he should have hunted before he came here, not that it would have helped much, but it couldn't hurt.

Then he heard her truck, it was more than a mile away but it was so loud he wondered how he hadn't heard it before. Again he wasn't sure if it was better if he was in the room when she first got there or if he should come in afterward. Which one would be less shocking? Alice had said that she was expecting him to be there, he supposed staying in the room was the best.

He heard Bella and Charlie talk when she came into the house. Charlie's mind was on the game when she walked in, but when he noticed her he seemed to take in her expression. Edward smiled, though Charlie's thoughts were hard to read, at least he was able to see Bella perfectly fine through Charlie's eyes. The other thing that made him smile was the fact that Bella looked anxious about something and he noticed her looking up at her room more than once. Charlie noticed that too, however, he didn't think there was anything suspicious about it. In fact he seemed to be pleased by this. Edward saw a passing flash of Bella in the police cruiser, she was looking kind of glum and Charlie's thoughts seemed to echo Edward's assessment. Hm … that must have been a few days ago, Edward thought, and he agreed with Charlie's next thought: that she looked a lot happier now. However, the next words out of Charlie's mouth didn't make Edward feel that good.

"I'm glad that you and Jake have been getting along," Charlie smiled at her. Edward noticed that Bella smiled nervously back, which made him nervous in return, wondering what she was thinking, until he saw her look up at her room. Was she wondering if he was here, listening to this conversation?

"Yeah, we relate to each other really easily," Bella said, "he's a good friend."

"So he's just your friend?" Charlie asked, watching her closely.

"Dad!" Bella said in exasperation. "It's not like that at all."

Edward was pleased to hear that Charlie believed her on that. There was also the added bonus that he seemed to be pleased that Bella didn't like Jacob that way. Hm … that was different than in the book, but he supposed that was only to be expected. Right now, Charlie didn't really want Bella to like anyone; that way he wouldn't have to deal with his daughter having a boyfriend (Edward knew that he wasn't looking forward to that himself …. if and when his own daughter would be in that situation). However, in the book, after everything that he had put Bella through, it must have seemed like Jacob was the better choice, from Charlie's point of view. He was really going to have to try and stay on Charlie's good side in this reality.

Before Edward could think about that anymore, Bella was making her way up the stairs. He could hear her pause at her bedroom door, her heart racing as she took a deep breath. The seconds it took for her to open the door Edward could almost feel his heart beating, too, and his whole body tensed with the anticipation of seeing her again.

"Oh," Bella gasped as her eyes widened as she saw him there. She looked just like she had earlier today when she had opened the front door to find Alice and him standing there. Like she couldn't believe her eyes and yet at the same time there was a knowing look there that said that she had been expecting him to be there all along. "Hi."

"Hello," Edward breathed out, smiling at her, keeping eye contact the whole time. She stayed holding onto the door for what felt like eternity, but in reality it was less than a minute.

"I can't believe that you're really here," Bella finally spoke, breaking the silence that had filled the room. She took a step closer to him and closed the door behind her, never once taking her eyes off of him.

"I couldn't stay away," Edward said.

Bella bit her lip; she didn't know what to make of that comment. He had said things like that so many times in the book, all the while thinking about leaving … not letting her get too attached to him. She had been going over this over and over again since he had left, and she couldn't quite figure out why he had stayed to meet her. She could see the Edward that she had read about in the book deciding never to meet her in person. After all, what better way to make sure that she never gets killed or turned into a vampire was there than by never meeting him in the first place? That way she would never know what she was missing. So why would he be here? She came up with one conclusion: he must know more about this than she did. Now she was wondering how much.

Well, in truth, she had been wondering that during dinner and her drive to Jacob's house and back, but now that she was faced with Edward in her room, all she was thinking about was how beautiful his eyes were. How she could stare into them for hours in utter silence and yet she would never find anything more interesting to look at in the world. He smiled at her, and then looked away. As she took a breath she noticed that her lungs burned a little, she must have been holding her breath as she looked at him. She was going to have to work on that.

"Is that a good thing or a bad thing?" Bella asked, trying to remember what she had been thinking before.

"I think it's a good thing," Edward chuckled, and she heard none of the warnings he had seemed to be sending her throughout the book. He didn't seem to be conflicted at all; he seemed to really want to be here and only here. That seemed to confirm her theory. He must know more about what happened than she did. This was good, because where _Midnight Sun_ had ended … well she really wanted to know what happened next … and she was really pleased to find that it probably worked out well.

"What's the matter?" Edward asked, and she looked up to find that he was frowning.

"Nothing," Bella said.

Edward sighed; he was finding it difficult to stand in here, clearly seeing her work something out in her head and not to be able to hear it at all. It was torture, pure torture not knowing what she was thinking.

"Are you alright?" Bella asked a little worried. She didn't say anything wrong, did she?

Edward smiled, shaking his head and then looked down at her, his eyes twinkling with amusement, "I was just wondering what you were thinking?"

"Oh," Bella said, and then she was smiling too, before she started to chuckle.

Edward's laughter joined hers quickly after that; noting that he was going to have to do whatever it took to make that glorious sound come from her as much as he possible could.

"I suppose I'm going to hear that a lot," Bella teased.

"At least twenty times a day," Edward admitted unabashed.

"You seemed more amused than I thought you would be about this," Bella said, "I thought you were annoyed by the fact that you couldn't read my mind."

"Oh, I am," Edward said. "Especially at lunch … and in Biology class. You were acting so strangely I was dying to know what you were thinking. Reading the book didn't prepare me enough to find out how annoying not knowing your every thought would be … you know seeing as I could hear all your thoughts at the time …."

"The book was in my point of view," Bella gasped, shrugged and then groaned.

Edward's mouth went thin; he wanted to laugh but he was also annoyed by what just happened. "You're doing it again. I can't understand your reaction at all."

"Did you read the books with your whole family?" Bella asked his nod confirming what she already knew had to be true. Then she groaned again, "Argh … that's so embarrassing, I can imagine what I must have thought."

Edward chuckled at that. That would explain the first groan, and judging by the look in her eyes, she hadn't been so surprised by this fact … that would explain the shrug. But why had she gasped? She was surprised the book was in her point of view … that was interesting. "Wasn't the book you got from your point of view?"

"Nope," Bella said, stilling looking worried about his family reading her thoughts. "It was in yours."

"I see," Edward said; he was a little shocked about this, though he knew this would be her answer before he asked the question. "That's interesting … how far along did it go?"

"Hm … you said something about it being your turn to ask the questions the next day … it was after …." Bella explained.

"Ah, yes, that would be the day that I first listened to you during gym, and you smacked _Mike Newton_ with your racket," Edward smiled, though he had spat out Mike's name like a dirty word. He didn't really want to mention the other event that he knew happened the night before.

"You would have to bring that up, wouldn't you?" Bella made a face, and Edward smirked. _Hmm … teasing her will be fun too._

"How far did the book go for you?" Bella asked and then added, "That was what I was thinking about before, by the way …. I figured you must know more than I do if you're here."

Edward furrowed his eyebrows together, wondering what that meant, and not particularly wanting to tell her that he read about the next two years. Instead he asked, "Why would you say that?"

Bella bit her lip nervously. "Well, you were kind of … conflicted during the book. Trying to be close to me and push me away at the same time. I thought that if you only read to the place I got that you would … um … not want to meet me."

"Oh," Edward sighed, thinking about what he had thought after reading _Twilight_ … and _Eclipse_ , she really had a point there. She seemed to understand him pretty well, and he felt a burning desire to read the book she had. But then he looked up at her and he could clearly see that she was expecting a better answer from him then just 'oh'. "You're right about that …."

"I see," Bella sighed looking down frowning.

Edward felt the urge to go over to her, but he made himself stay where he was. "But don't worry about that, it's never going to happen now …. I'm not going anywhere."

Bella smiled still looking down, and then said, "You still haven't told me how far your book went."

"Um …." Edward hesitated and Bella looked at him a little alarmed, wondering how bad was it. "We got four books …."

"Four!" Bella gasped.

"And it covered the next two years," Edward went on; he wanted to get this over with as fast as he could.

"Two years!" Bella groaned. "Four books … two years … and it was all in my point of view!"

Edward tried to hide his amusement but he didn't think he got away with it because she was glaring at him. "Pretty much."

"Well, that's mortifying," Bella muttered to herself and then blushed, realizing that he could hear her. "But I guess I can't really say anything because I read your thoughts, too. Can I read the books?"

Edward shifted uncomfortably at the mention of that.

"Is it really that bad that you don't want me to read them?" Bella asked, misreading Edward's reaction.

"No," Edward said. "I was actually thinking about my own book … I was wondering how bad it was … I know I must have been … horrendous in the first chapter …."

Bella bit her lip, and decided that she had to be truthful about this, there really wasn't any point in lying to him. "You were a bit scary … and it was hard to hear your thoughts sometimes …."

Edward moaned miserably at that.

"But they were also quite amazing to hear … especially what you thought about me. How you felt about me," Bella whispered blushing slightly when she looked at Edward and he had to smile at her.

"I think I want to read that," Edward said. "I wonder if it's anything like what I'm going through now."

"Yeah, well I really want to read my books," Bella said. "I'm really looking forward to what happens in the meadow."

"Hm …." Edward said, his eyes closing as he remembered what had happened there, trying not to think about the part where he acted like a maniac and just the last half when they had became close. "I think you're going to like that."

"Argh, don't say thing like that," Bella groaned, her impatience to hear it was becoming stronger, she had known that that event had to be a turning point in their relationship and it was obvious that it had turned out well. She just didn't know how well it was. "Unless you're going to tell me more."

"Sorry," Edward opened his eyes and smiled at her. "I think it's probably better if you read it though …." he added because he knew that he needed the extra time to get more control over himself.

"Fine, when can I get my hands on the books then?" Bella sighed, she was sort of hoping for a different answer, but that was okay, reading about it would be okay, too.

"Maybe you can come to my house tomorrow … I know of a few vampires that would like to meet you," Edward said, he was sure how she was going to react to that and he wasn't disappointed.

"What?" Bella said, turning red immediately. It was true that she did want to meet them, but she didn't know if she was ready for that. Besides, after four books and two years who knows what they would be expecting from her. "I don't know …."

"Don't worry, they're all looking forward to meeting you," Edward said softly.

Bella tensed more than ever. "That's what I'm afraid of. What if I'm not what they expect?"

"You don't have to worry about that," Edward said in a sweet voice and Bella looked up at him. They stayed that way for a long time, equally dazzling each other. Then Edward finally continued in his soft musical voice, "You're so much more than I thought … more than I could ever imagine. I thought I was prepared, knowing what was coming, but I had no idea how you would make me feel. How enthralling just listening to your heartbeat is; how deep and meaningful your eyes are … truly a window to that wonderful soul of yours …."

Bella had no words for this, she could hardly make herself breathe as he said this to her. Both she and Edward had been subconsciously moving closer to each other as he spoke and now he was only an arm's length away.

Then, suddenly he was gone! Bella eyes widened and her heart beat painfully in her chest. She looked around the room and found Edward in the corner looking grimly at her.

"I'm sorry," Edward sighed.

"I understand," Bella said, and she did understand better than he thought she did. She hadn't been blind to the fact that he had been standing very rigidly. Still, she couldn't believe how easy it was for her to merely be nervous at the fact that she was talking to the person she liked alone in her room. She didn't even stop to think about the other issue that was involved in this, though she had been trying to give him as much space as possible. It was impossible to remember that when he was looking at her like he was. "It's hard for you to be near me."

Edward groaned at that, looking graver than before. "That's not exactly it."

"What is it then?" Bella asked looking at him curiously.

"I want to be near you too much," Edward said. "I was surprised at how close we were, so close that all I had to do is reach out and touch you."

Edward closed his eyes, he so wanted to just reach out and touch her, he wondered how her hot skin would feel against his. He pictured her moving into his touch, bringing them closer than before … and that was when he ran away. He wasn't ready for that; he could hear how the monster in his head liked the idea of them getting closer. _All the easier to make you slip_ , it thought.

"And that would have been bad?" Bella asked softly, forcing herself to sit on the bed so she wouldn't get too close to him again.

"Right now … I think it's better if I keep some distance … especially when we're alone," Edward sighed. "After all, it took me more than a month to get used to you in the books and I know it's different now … everything's different, but I do need time."

"I really do understand, Edward," Bella said, though she was looking glumly at him. "I suppose this is the down side to us both reading the books."

"What do you mean?" Edward asked.

"Well, I was prepared to have to wait for you before," Bella said. "I knew it would take awhile for you to even be able to talk to me, let alone anything else … but now, knowing that you know everything … argh … it just makes it hard not to try and get close to you."

Edward chuckled at that. "Yes, I do see your point. I suppose I'm just going to have to try harder to get control over myself."

"Well, I think you're doing a good job already." Bella smiled at him encouragingly.

"Yes, and I sure that things will come along a lot faster this way," Edward said, not realizing that he was getting closer to Bella again. He stopped when he reached the middle of the room and sighed. "But I think that I've risked enough for today."

Bella sighed and bit her lip.

She looked so endearing that he wanted to go over to her and hold her. "I think it's best if I leave …."

"Oh," Bella sighed again. "If that's what you have to do …."

"It almost sounds like you want me to stay," Edward said smugly. He liked that idea, and he knew that he wasn't really going to go that far, he just didn't think it was best to stay here, not when he was so tempted to be close to her.

"I wouldn't mind," Bella mumbled and if Edward wasn't a vampire he wouldn't have heard that.

"Hm …. I thought you would have been embarrassed about having me here," Edward said, a little puzzled, but more amused than anything else.

"I am," Bella said and the blush on her cheeks proved that was true. "But I … I like it when you're around."

Edward smiled smugly at that. "Then I'll try to get over myself as fast as I can. In the meantime, take care to know that you're always in my thoughts."

"Right," Bella said, rather breathless again.

Edward then walked towards the window but turned around before he went out. "Oh, and Bella, I think where the book you read left off is the perfect place for us to start tomorrow at lunch."

"What?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows.

"I have a million questions I want to ask you," Edward smiled at her.

Bella blushed. "Didn't you get enough answers out of the book?"

"Not at all," Edward grimaced. "The book skimmed right through that part … you should have heard how Emmett teased me about that."

Bella chuckled. "You must have been so disappointed that you couldn't hear the answers."

"Excruciatingly so," Edward groaned. "But I think it's for the best now, hearing it for the first time from you should make it all the more interesting … I'll be able to see how you react to everything."

"Oh, that just makes me look forward to that," Bella groaned.

Edward chuckled, and sighed, "I just wished I knew one thing."

"What's that?" Bella asked.

"What your favorite flower is?" Edward asked.

"Oh …." Bella said and then answered without thinking about it, "Orange Blossom. They might not be the prettiest flowers, but I just love the way they smell …." she trailed off there for Edward's smile caught her off guard. It was intense and smug, so she raised an eyebrow questioningly.

"I've been told that my scent has a hint of Orange Blossom in it," Edward said, looking as if he would be blushing if he could, but it didn't really matter because Bella seemed to be blushing enough of the both of them. "Not to mention, the meaning behind them … it fits …."

"Meaning?" Bella questioned.

"They mean that your purity equals your loveliness, innocence and," Edward said looking at her and then pausing before saying the last meaning with a lopsided grin, "eternal love."

"Oh," Bella said, blushing more. "I see what you mean."

"Goodnight, Bella," Edward said softly, again feeling tempted to just stay there all night, but he couldn't and now he had something in his mind that he should go and take care of.

"Goodnight, Edward," Bella sighed and the next second he was gone. She sighed as she looked out the window, wondering if he was still watching her or if he had left for home. She then looked at the clock and noticed that it was nearly ten and she should be going to bed soon. She supposed it was a good thing he left, or at least that's what she was telling herself as she got ready for bed, but all the same she really wished that he was still there.

However, she had to smile when she got back to her room half an hour later and there was a small vase on her windowsill with Orange Blossoms in it. The scent was already starting to fill the room. She looked out the window as she picked up the flowers, and whispered thank you, though she wasn't sure if he was there or not. She knew one thing; it was definitely nice to have a vampire boyfriend. She was surprised the gift didn't make her feel uncomfortable, but she supposed that was just because she was awed by his thoughtfulness.

 *********************** You Really Want To Read The Author's Note ***********************

 **A/N: Okay, the next chapter Bella and Edward are going to be talking at school. Depending on how long that takes, I think the chapter after that Bella will be meeting the rest of the Cullens.**

 **Some of you might be mad at me for making Edward pull away here, but honestly, I just felt it would be too soon for him to be able to be around her without being flighty and cautious. I don't plan to keep this up for that much longer, but a day really seemed too fast for me.**

 **And about what I chose as Bella's favorite flower, I don't think it was mentioned in the book so I tried to look up the meaning of the flowers and this one seemed to fit. It also helped that it mentions that this was one of the scents that Alice used during the wedding so I figured I could get away with saying that Edward sort of smelled like that.**

 **Anyway, when I was looking at the meanings of the flowers I also came across another one, Spider Flower, that I thought would lead to an interesting conversation, but I went with the more sentimental rather than funny reaction, but seeing as this is a shorter chapter than the others I thought I would just add the alternate version at the end here. Oh and I hope you just allow that Edward would know the meaning of all the flowers, he had free time to learn things like that right. Hope you enjoy it:**

" _ **What your favorite flower is?" Edward asked.**_

" _ **Oh," Bella said and then answered without thinking about it, "Spider flower."**_

 _ **Edward pressed his mouth closely together and tried with all his might not to laugh, but it was too much for him.**_

" _ **What?" Bella asked, looking both hurt and angry at his laughter.**_

" _ **I just think it's really ironic that you would choose that flower," Edward said, this time managing to stop the laughing, but he still looked amused. "Seeing what it means."**_

" _ **What does it mean?" Bella said, leaning more towards anger now.**_

" _ **Elope with me," Edward smiled and now Bella looked mortified.**_

" _ **Oh," was all she could say as her face turned red and then it slowly seemed to drain of color.**_

" _ **You can see how I would find that amusing now," Edward chuckled again.**_

 _ **Bella looked at him, her eyes going wide in sudden horror, "how do you know … we don't … get**_ **married** _ **do we?"**_

 _ **Edward sighed as he rolled his eyes, this was probably not the best thing he could have brought up with the completely irrational girl of his. "You'll find out when you read the books."**_

" _ **Argh," Bella groaned, bowing her head. "I can't believe that … you said it was only two years in the future!"**_

" _ **Don't worry about it, Bella. I promise, everything worked out," Edward smiled at her. "It was different than either one of us would have imagined but it was definitely better than anything either of us could have hoped for."**_

" _ **I guess," Bella said. "I just can't believe it …."**_

" _ **Well, goodnight, Bella," Edward smiled at her, "have pleasant dreams."**_

" _ **If you think I can sleep after you drop something like that on me, you're mistaken," Bella grumbled.**_

 _ **Edward shook his head in amusement. "It always amazes me how you can take in all the monster stuff like it was nothing, but the normal things … they're the scariest thing in the world."**_

" _ **Well, I guess I'm just odd that way," Bella pouted.**_

" _ **I guess you are," Edward smiled. "But honestly, I wouldn't want you any other way."**_

" _ **Good," Bella smiled at him this time.**_

" _ **Sleep well," Edward smiled at her.**_

" _ **Goodnight, Edward," Bella said and seconds later he was gone.**_


	5. Lunchtime Conversations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Five

Lunchtime Conversations

Bella woke up the next morning feeling very refreshed. Though it had taken her a while to calm down after Edward left, she was eventually able to fall asleep, where she found that she dreamed of the incredible vampire. That morning she seemed to move with extra enthusiasm. She couldn't wait to get to school, though she knew that the first four hours was going to be even more painful than it was yesterday waiting to see him.

Still, she didn't let that affect her as she picked out what to wear, decided that she wasn't quite ready to wear the blue blouse that she knew that Edward would love on her. She was saving that for a special occasion. However, she decided to put on much more appealing clothes than yesterday, seeing as Edward had mentioned going to his house to meet his family. She wasn't sure if he really meant it or not, and she was sure that she wasn't really ready for that, but she wanted to be prepared just in case.

After dressing she quickly went downstairs and had to rush through breakfast. Before she knew it she was out the door heading for her truck. Half of her was almost hoping that Edward would have shown up with his Volvo like he did where she left off in the book, but she realized that wouldn't be feasible. Image the rumors that would fill the town if Edward did that!

She was, however, surprised to see Edward waiting by his car when she pulled into the parking lot at school. She stared at him as she got out of the truck and she seemed to almost have to force herself not to skip to him, which on the whole wouldn't have been a good thing. However, she did wish that she had hurried a little more for she barely had time to say hi before the bell rang, signaling it was time to get to class.

"Don't worry, Bella, we'll see each other at lunch," Edward smiled at her before talking in a deep breath. His eyes closed as the scent washed over him, and sighed as he felt the intensity of her scent once more. He walked with her to the building, but once they parted from each other, Edward ran to Bella's house again. The burn this morning was almost as strong as it was the day before, when he first went to her room. It seemed like he had to keep close to her to stay desensitized.

Still, he remembered what Jasper had said to him during the car ride to school that morning. He thought that the best way to really make Edward safer to be around Bella was for him not to overindulgent, or to make special steps to prevent being near her. If he was ever going to truly master this, he was going to have to stick to his normal feeding cycle along with others things that would make him more capable to handling being near Bella's scent all the time. Obviously Jasper didn't mean he should take all these steps at once, but Edward thought his theory was valid. The sooner he could be around her and not be affected by her scent, not have it be the first thing on his mind, the better. Still, he wasn't quite ready to commit to that theory yet; he had to make sure that he could handle that now.

Just as she had predicted, classes were even more difficult to concentrate on today, for all she could do was think about lunch and what Edward was going to ask her. When she got into the cafeteria and got in the line to get food, she looked at the Cullens' table, but didn't see Edward there, so she looked for him somewhere else, wondering if he was sitting by himself, waiting for her to join her. Just the thought of it seemed to make her heart race, but when she didn't see him she got worried. Where was he?

"Are you looking for someone?" Edward whispered softly, causing Bella to jump and then look at him with a glare.

"Don't do that," Bella said indignantly, but the expression quickly vanished as she could feel her body relax. Just having him around made her feel better.

 _Oh my God! I can't believe this! Edward Cullen, freaking Edward Cullen is talking to Bella!_ Jessica Stanley's thoughts were filled with bitterness. _What does he even see in her? She's not even good looking … yeah, all the guys are talking about her, but that's just because she's new here. I can't believe that Edward Cullen would … argh …._

Edward tried to block her thoughts out, but she was screaming them in her head and they weren't by any means the only thoughts that he was hearing.

 _NO! What the hell? I can't believe it, why is that freak suddenly talking to people? Why did it have to be Bella?_ Mike Newton's thoughts were the loudest out of the wave of voices that he heard in his head, even though he was sitting at a table keeping his eyes on Bella. _Argh, what a jackass, I totally talked to her first ... um … at least I talked to her longer, now he's trying to jump all over her. And look at her, she's all smiling at him, argh … all caught up in his money and looks, as if that matters._

"Is something wrong?" Bella asked him noticing the growing frown on his face as Edward tried his hardest not to turn around and snap Mike in two. He found it especially difficult when he thought so lowly of Bella.

"I just _thought_ that I would have to do something to make up for scaring you," Edward said, putting emphasis on the word thought, thinking that was all Bella needed to know to figure out what was bothering him. He was distinctly aware that Jessica was gaping at him, her thoughts beyond words now, as familiar and unwanted fantasies entered her mind.

"Oh," Bella said eyeing Jessica suspiciously, as if she knew exactly what was on her mind and didn't like it one bit. "Well, you didn't scare me much. I don't think you owe me anything."

"I insist that you have lunch with me," Edward said smoothly.

 _Holy cow, that's not fair, how could he ask her to lunch just like that?_ Jessica thought bitterly again. _Maybe I can somehow go with them, I wouldn't mind just sitting there, his voice is so …. eee …. Just hearing him talk makes me crazy. Still I don't think I've heard him talk this much before, why did it have to be her?!_

"Well, if you insist," Bella said breathlessly.

"You don't mind if I take Bella from you for a little while, do you?" Edward said in his sweet voice and he could hear Jessica's heart race. Bella raised an eyebrow in annoyance at this, but he had to make sure Jessica didn't try and follow them.

"No, it's okay," Jessica said, shooting Bella a look, _I going to make sure that she spills her guts about what she's talking to Edward about_. Then he heard Bella sigh, she obviously got the message. Soon they were able to buy their food and pick a table where they could be alone, though as Bella looked across the room at Edward's siblings she remembered that they weren't quite as alone as they had been last night.

"That wasn't the best way to get me to sit with you," Bella told Edward as they sat down. "I'm sure everyone is looking at us now."

"Yes, and you wouldn't believe what they are thinking," Edward smiled, the chatter in his head was strong which made it that much harder to pick out individual voices, which in turn made it easier to tune them out if he wanted, which most definitely was what he wanted.

"What had you frowning in the line?" Bella asked, curiosity getting the better of her.

"Oh, just Mike Newton and his appalling thoughts," Edward shrugged; it was harder to be angry at that when he didn't have to hear the thoughts himself. "Let's just hope for his sake that he doesn't keep thinking about things along those lines …."

"Do I even want to know?" Bella groaned, she thought she heard enough of what Mike thought when she was reading the books.

"Not really," Edward looked back at her. "But now that I have you here, let's not talk about that. I have a much better subject matter to talk about."

"Oh, and what would that be?" Bella questioned.

"I have a few million questions to ask you," Edward smiled. "It's my turn after all."

"You know, I've been thinking about that," Bella said, "and I just don't think that's going to work for me."

Edward frowned, no pouted, at her, "but I've been waiting for almost a month to hear all this."

Bella's resolve almost completely faltered at that look, he looked so impossible sad and … cute that she just wanted to give him everything he asked for. Still, she didn't think her request was that unreasonable and surely he would see that it made sense. That was if she ever remembered how to talk again.

"You know, I think you're going to have to stop looking at me like that, it's not fair," Bella tried to frown back at him, but couldn't manage it.

Edward cocked his head to the side and then gave her a lopsided grin, "is this better?"

Bella's heart skipped a beat at the grin, "no … but I guess you can't help what you do to me."

Edward looked very smug at that and then asked, "So, what problem do you have with our agreement?"

"Well," Bella said biting her lips, "I just thought that you've spent so much more time reading about me … you know so much more than I do … that it isn't fair that you get to ask the questions …."

Edward frowned at that. "You're right, but I didn't get to know anything about your past … I only got to see your present and things are different now, so really, I want to know everything about you."

Bella smiled at him, she couldn't really see what would be so interesting about her past. It couldn't be anything compared to his, but she knew that he felt differently. He wasn't just saying it. He really did want to know everything about her, just like she wanted to know everything about him.

"Yes, I do understand that, I was just thinking that we … that we could come up with a compromise for this," Bella said, but stopped and looked at the Cullens' table because Emmett had just snorted so loudly that she wasn't the only one looking at him.

 _Ha Eddy, she's trying to compromise with you_ , Emmett thought as he remembered the amusing conversation Edward and Bella had in the third book. He thought of every embarrassing detail and Edward was starting to look a little agitated.

"Shut up!" Edward hissed, but not low enough. Bella could understand him, and she was looking a little embarrassed, though she obviously had no idea why.

"What did I say?" Bella asked self consciously.

"Nothing," Edward said.

"But Emmett is laughing at me," Bella grimaced.

"Um … No, he's … er … it's nothing, I promise," Edward said and then he turned to glare at his brother.

 _Alice says we have to give you privacy now, so don't glare at me,_ Emmett thought as he took Rosalie's hands and left the building, _and tell Bella that I was laughing at you, not her_.

"They're leaving," Bella said, watching as all of Edward's siblings left the cafeteria.

"They wanted to give us some privacy," Edward said to her, "and Em says, he was laughing at me, not you."

"Is that true?" Bella raised her eyebrow.

"For the most part," Edward answered as truthfully as he could. "But let's not talk about him. I wanted to know what you're thinking."

"Oh, right," Bella said, her attention being brought back to Edward and her worry about his siblings left her. "I just thought it would only be fair if … well, you know, if we could ask each other questions …."

Edward furrowed his eyebrows together. "I suppose that's reasonable. But who gets to go first?"

"I'll let you go first," Bella smiled at him.

Edward looked at her, noticing the red blouse underneath the heavy jacket she and the form fitting black slacks she was wearing. He wondered about something, what she had thought when she answered this question in the book and wondered if it was true or not. "What's your favorite color?"

Bella looked bemused at his choice of questions. Such a mundane question from him just felt weird when nothing about him was mundane. "Red, I suppose … it changes all the time, depending on the mood I'm in." She then noticed the amused look on Edward's face and raised an eyebrow. "You asked me that question in the book didn't you?"

"And it was one of the few question you did have an answer for," Edward chuckled. "You said brown in the book, a very interesting color to choose."

"Well, I'm sorry I'm not as interesting as the book was," Bella gave him a mock pout and Edward chuckled even more.

"Yes, but your reason behind your choice, that really was what made me consider that you were right about brown," Edward said, "you were so convincing that I think you might have converted me to believe it was my favorite color."

"Oh," Bella said, feeling the blush creep up her face, "and just what did I say to convince you of that?"

"Hm …." Edward said, but instead of answering immediately he just looked into Bella's eyes, he held her glaze for a long time as his hand moved on its own accord towards her hand, but he stopped himself. He then smiled at her again and said, "It wasn't so much what you said."

"Oh," Bella sighed, again finding it difficult to breathe. She wondered if she would ever get the hang of that and then she wondered if she would ever want to get the hang of it. "I suppose my favorite color should have been topaz."

"No, that was your favorite gemstone," Edward said smugly.

"But my favorite … oh," Bella said, a little confused at first, before she started blushing again.

"That or onyx," Edward added.

"Well, you do have amazing eyes, it's not hard to see why I would think that," Bella said, her voice and face returning to normal. "So, are you saying that your favorite color is brown then?"

"Maybe, but I'm not sure yet, or rather there is something that I have to see before I can decide," Edward said.

"And what is that?" Bella asked.

"I'll let you know when I see it," Edward answered after a short pause.

"Okay," Bella sighed and then said, "I believe it's your turn to ask a question again."

"Yes, and I believe that there is a flaw in this system," Edward said and Bella looked at him a little confused. He could clearly see in her eyes that she was asking him what he meant by that. Yes, he really did love those eyes and how they looked at him with such warmth. "I believe you asked me four questions for the one that I asked you."

"Sorry," Bella smiled at him sheepishly. "I suppose I couldn't help myself, I wanted to know more."

"I can't blame you for that," Edward chuckled. "Actually I think I like how curious you are. The little spark of intuition in your eyes when I say something … it's fascinating to see."

"Well, I'm glad I fascinate you." Bella made a face.

Edward chuckled. "Still I was thinking that I should have learned by now not to compromise with you, you always get the better end of the deal."

Bella furrowed her forehead at that. "I really can't stand that you know our future, you keep hinting about what happens and I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Sorry, I'll try not to hint at things," Edward sighed, "but at least you know you got the better deal."

Bella rolled her eyes, but didn't further this discussion and just waited patiently for his question.

"Why is red you favorite color or should I asked what's the significance of red?" Edward asked.

"Oh," Bella said, and dropped her head and giving a shy smile. "I usually wear red when I'm happy, looking forward to something."

Edward smiled, and then asked softly, "what about blue?"

Bella looked up at that and narrowed her eyes thoughtfully. "That was an interesting question, and right now I don't really have an answer."

"Why not?"

"Well, because before now, it usually meant that I was being realistic … or maybe you would call it pessimistic," Bella admitted, "but seeing how you like the color on me … well, I might have to change my view on the color."

"Hm, that's good, for I think that I wouldn't want to see you pessimistic if I can help it, but I am looking forward to seeing you in blue," Edward said, he could almost imagine what it would look like; though he knew by now that he could never quite tell how strongly he would feel in person.

"So, is that your other favorite color?" Bella asked, with a knowing smile.

"It might be," Edward said looking amused.

"I was thinking about wearing blue today, a particular blouse that I knew you liked," Bella said, feeling a little embarrassed mentioning this, but she was trying to be completely open with him. It seemed to be working so far, and the fact that he was being just as open with her … everything just felt right when they were talking together like this. It was hard to imagine that they were in a room full of people right now; all she could see or hear was him. And then the bell rang and reality set in.

"Time to go," Edward sighed and they both stood up. He watched her as she stood. "It was probably good that you didn't wear the blue blouse today, I'm having enough trouble staying away from you."

"Hm …. I'm not sure if I did the right thing then," Bella said playfully.

"I think you did … for the time being," Edward sighed as they reached the biology room door and he let her go through first. Once they got inside the room they could feel everyone's eyes on them and Bella was looking very red indeed when she sat next to him. It seemed like the little bubble that she was in during lunch had popped and she realized for the first time how much attention was actually focused on them.

"Is it my turn to ask a question?" Bella whispered to him.

"Well, it was but that was a question so …." Edward started with a smirk but stopped when she glared at him. "Very well, what is it?"

"What is everyone is thinking?" Bella grimaced.

Edward sighed, thinking she was going to ask something like that. He listened to the general muttering, ignoring Mike as much as he could. The boy was thinking about how he had planned on getting Bella to sit with him and how much he hated Edward for stepping in. Smirking, Edward moved on to the others, how they were all wondering how this happened, and why Edward was acting so out of character for him. The girls all seemed to be a little resentful that Edward had picked the new girl, who wasn't even that pretty, nothing to the godlike figure that was Edward Cullen. He heard Angela, noticing that she was affected by the same gossip as everyone else, but she seemed to have an appreciative aspect to her thoughts. She compared the Bella she had walked to class the other day with the Bella at lunch and noted the positive changes. She also, to Edward's surprise, seemed to be pleased at the fact that he himself was so happy; she had noticed how lonely he seemed sometimes.

Edward whispered all this to Bella before Mr. Banner got to class and he could see how much this affected her. The longer he talked the gloomier she looked.

"Hm … perhaps you feel like wearing blue now," Edward commented with a smile just as Mr. Banner walked in and Bella could do nothing but look affronted. During class Bella tried to pay attention, but again she could feel Edward's eyes on her and she was finding that very distracting. It was lucky that she already knew the subject. Mr. Banner, noticing Edward's lack of attention, tried to catch him with a wrong answer, however that was impossible and it just caused the teacher to be surly.

After class Edward walked Bella to the gym, and she had a look on her face that caused Edward to ask, "Is something wrong?"

"I want you to make me a promise," Bella said, suddenly nervously.

"Hm," Edward said cautiously, "okay, if you make me one in return."

"Okay," Bella sighed, "don't watch me in gym class … ever."

Edward pouted, "Bella!"

"Edward, please," Bella groaned. "It's bad enough to know that you already know about it, but to think about you watching me in gym …."

"Well, you're going to hit someone with the ball today," Edward informed her with a smirk and she groaned and blushed in embarrassment.

"Now see, how am I supposed to concentrate on gym if I know that you'll be watching me?" Bella asked.

"Okay, I'll try my hardest not to watch you during gym," Edward sighed. "This means that you're going to have to do something for me."

"And what's that?" Bella asked.

"Come to my house today," Edward said. "Esme is really looking forward to seeing you."

"Hm …. I had a feeling that you were going to bring this up again," Bella said. "And that I would have to come with you."

"You were already going to come," Edward sighed. "It looks like you got the better compromise again."

"Well, I thought you knew that you couldn't make deals with me," Bella said smirking.

"You don't do smug well," Edward grimaced.

"Sorry," she sighed and pouted at him.

Edward rolled his eyes, and said sweetly, "get to class, Bella."

During gym Bella's concentration was worse than ever, but luckily the ball wasn't hit in her general direction too much and though her teammates looked at her with contempt she didn't try to go for any of the balls thanks to Edwards warning and so didn't hit anyone else. Edward was finding it hard to concentrate at all in his Spanish class, and he was finding it extremely difficult not to watch Bella during gym. In all truth he probably wouldn't have been watching her in this class if she hadn't said anything, but still, the fact that he promised that he wouldn't watch her only made it all the more difficult not to.

 _What's the matter Eddy? You looked a little annoyed right now,_ Emmett asked.

"It's nothing," Edward muttered so no one could hear him but Emmett.

 _Sorry about lunch_ , Emmett said, and he was, though it was clear he was still amused. _I just couldn't help it._

Edward rolled his eyes. "It's okay."

 _So, how is Bella doing in her first gym class, did she fall down yet?_ Emmett laughed.

Edward growled softly, and though no one could hear him, the humans around him all seemed to tense up. Emmett's chuckle didn't help him feel any better either.

"Never mind that now," Edward hissed.

"Okay, okay, relax Eddy," Emmett said. _So what are you plans for today?_

"Actually I do have something to tell you that you might like," Edward said, feeling more upbeat now.

 _What is it?_ Emmett thought excitedly, he was such a kid sometimes.

"I've convinced Bella to come home with me today. Can you tell everyone about it and get everything ready before we get there?" Edward said.

 _HELL YEAH! Do you have any idea how hard it's been not to talk to her?_ Emmett shouted in his head.

Edward just glared at him.

 _Oh right, you do know that … um … better than I do_ , Emmett said, looking at Edward sympathetically.

"Just make sure that everything's ready, and try not to scare her," Edward pleaded with his brother.

"I'll do my best," Emmett promised. "And I'll try to make sure everyone knows to tune down their reactions. You know, except for Alice … she really was worked up about something yesterday, I think she already knew that Bella was coming over."

"Or at least that it was a distinct possibility," Edward said, and was a little worried about what she had planned for the day. "Still, I think you would have a good half an hour before we get to the house, I'm going to have to take her _truck_ there."

"I feel really sorry for you, man," Emmett chuckled.

"Thanks," Edward said, looking up at the clock. "See you soon."

Edward walked as quickly as he could without drawing attention to himself, which he was distinctly aware he was already getting more of than usual, though not more than what he had been getting all day. It looked like this was just something he was going to have to get used to and he was going to have to try and act just as normally as he could. When he reached Bella, however, he didn't think about anything like that and all he could see was her.

"How was class?" Edward asked.

"Not as bad as I thought it was going to be," Bella shrugged. "And you?"

"Um …. I wouldn't really know, I didn't pay any attention, I was talking to Emmett," Edward said. "I told him that you were coming over."

"Right, I guess that's a good thing," Bella said biting her lips. "Edward …. I don't know what to expect … you said they all liked me … do you mean everyone?"

"Yes, of course," Edward said, and then raised his eyebrow. "What's the matter, you look afraid? And I don't think it's just about meeting my family!"

"You have to understand," Bella said looking at the floor, feeling ashamed that she felt this way. "Some of them want me d … don't like me …."

Edward sighed, pitching the bridge of his nose. "I wish you would have told me this sooner, I wouldn't have made you …."

"It's okay, Edward," Bella said softly, wanting to reach out to him, but didn't. "I do want to meet your family. I'm just … a little nervous."

"Okay, but please tell me who you're afraid of?" Edward asked and Bella shifted uncomfortably as he smiled at her, "Rosalie I'm sure."

"Edward …." Bella said softly.

"Is there anyone else? I remember saying something about Rose, Jasper and Emmett …." Edward asked and Bella didn't meet his eyes.

"I'm okay with Emmett," Bella muttered. "Though, he might be more annoying."

"Yes, that's sure to be true, but you already seem to like Alice and she's more annoying than anyone," Edward said. "I'm sure you'll like him."

"Yes, so am I," Bella said.

"But you're worried about Rosalie and Jasper," Edward sighed. "And it doesn't help much that I assure you that they care deeply about you."

"It does help," Bella said, "but it doesn't make me any less nervous."

"I suppose that's the best answer I'm going to get," Edward said. "Are you ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be," Bella shrugged.

 **A/N: Okay, so I'm not sure I'm happy with this chapter or not. I never really thought about a chapter like this when I was planning this story in my head for the last few months. I didn't expect them to have a talk like this, and it was hard for me to get the words right. However, the way I ended the last chapter, it seemed to lead into this one and I felt that I had to try my best at that and this is what I've came up with.**


	6. Meeting the Cullens

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom, and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Six

Meeting the Cullens

Bella and Edward headed for her truck, where Edward walked to the passenger's side and Bella waited at the back of the truck. They both looked at each other for a second looking a little confused before Bella said, "I thought you like opening the door for a lady... I mean, you're a gentlemen..."

Edward looked at her confused for a second longer before he smiled. "Bella, I am opening the door for you, I'm driving."

"Oh," Bella smiled before she grimaced. "No way!"

"Bella," Edward rolled his eyes, he couldn't believe that she was afraid of his driving even before she got into a car with him. Didn't she hear how easy it was for them to drive? "You don't know where my house is and it's not that easy to find … it would be a lot easier and not to mention safer if I drive."

"Fine," Bella grumbled and walked to where Edward stood, "but you know my truck doesn't go over sixty …"

"Yes, I am aware of that," Edward grumbled this time, "I really wished that we could have gotten Charlie to get you a nice sensible car, but he got this truck before we could do anything about it."

"That's too bad, for you," Bella smirked, as she got into the truck. She continued talking, knowing despite the fact that he was outside and if he'd been human he wouldn't have been able to hear her, that wouldn't be a probably for him. "But I really like my truck and I'm much happier that you didn't get me a car."

"I suppose this means that you are going to be against me giving you presents," Edward sighed as he got into the truck and started it.

"You suppose right," Bella made a face, "I don't need anything from you. You're more than enough."

"Well see, there's a problem with your logic," Edward said.

"And what's that?" Bella questioned, sure of what his answer would be and prepared herself to counter his argument.

"I got you," Edward said and looked at Bella full in the eyes and all the arguments as well as all of her thoughts were wiped out of her mind as she looked back at him. He looked away first, though he would have loved to keep looking at her, it was safer for him not to at the moment. "This means we're even at best, though I'm still inclined to believe that I get even more out of this deal …"

"Don't say that," Bella said sadly. "I might not be a vampire … or feel the way that …"

"You don't have to say more," Edward sighed. "I know you're not a normal human, and I can't judge your feelings to their standards. So let's just call ourselves even in this respect and move on."

"You still believe you care about me more," it was a statement not a question.

"And I always will," Edward chuckled. "But I understand that you won't agree with that."

Bella smiled, "okay, as long as we have an understanding."

"So does this mean that I can get you things?" Edward asked, though there was no real hope in his voice.

"Of course not," Bella shook her head.

"And why not?" Edward sighed.

"Because it would just throw things out of balance, I couldn't possible get you anything …" Bella said. "I don't mind the small things though … the flowers last night was very thoughtful."

Edward smiled at that, "I'm glad you liked it."

"You're trying to think of other little things you can get me, aren't you?" Bella said looking over his face.

"I might be," Edward said trying not to smile. Edward then turned on the small road that led to his house. "We'll be there in a minute."

Bella looked out the windshield now, trying to see if she could find the house in the forest in front of her, but she couldn't. She realized that Edward had distracted her from worrying about meeting his family during their drive here, but she was starting to feel that all over again.

It was a minute later that Bella was actually able to see the house and she smiled; it really was a beautiful home, even more so than she thought it would be from the description in the book. She looked over at Edward with a smile, but felt apprehensive when she noticed that he was frowning. "What's the matter, Edward?"

"I was expecting you to make a comment about the house … this isn't exactly what most people think of when seeing a vampire house for the first time," Edward pouted.

Bella chuckled. "Sorry, but you described your house enough in the book for me to know not to expect a tomb or crypt or something like that."

"Shame," Edward sighed, "I was looking forward to seeing your surprised or awed expression. So, are you ready to do this?!"

"As ready as I'm going to be," Bella took a deep breath and even before she let it our Edward was opening the truck door for her. "I'm going to have to get used to that."

"Sorry," Edward sighed. "I forget that you're still new to all of this."

"It's okay," Bella shrugged. "I like that you can act normally around me."

Edward and Bella then walked towards the house, Bella seeming to get more nervous the closer she got. She had Edward's assurance that his family was going to like her, but that didn't make her feel any less anxious. She knew they all had an expectation of her and she wasn't sure if she could live up to it.

"Relax," Edward said softly, noticing the tension she was feeling.

"I don't know if I can," Bella admitted, when she looked at him she noticed that she was feeling better. It seemed like the rest of the walk to the house passed without her even noticing it; she didn't even remember moving her feet as she looked into his eyes. Edward opened the door for her and the first things she noticed was the two amazing, statuesque figure that were standing a few feet away from her.

Esme … or at least she thought it was Esme from the description in the book, smiled at her, barely concealing the glee she was feeling. Though Bella still felt nervous, she couldn't help but smiling back at the honest care that she saw in the older woman's face. Bella's eyes then traveled to Carlisle and she was struck by how beautiful he was, though not in the same way as Edward, there was still a presence about him that made him appealing. She found that looking at him and his genuine and gentle smile made her relax further. Clearly they were expecting a lot from her, but then somehow looking at them didn't make her feel pressured like she had before, but more at peace.

"Bella, I would like you to meet Carlisle and Esme," Edward said, his voice showed the smile he must have had, though she wasn't looking at him.

"Hello," Bella said shyly.

"It's nice to final meet you," Esme said, looking like she was trying to hold herself back from going over to hug Bella, but didn't want to scare her.

"I wanted to meet you, too," Bella admitted truthfully, and Esme seemed to beam at the sincerity that was in her voice.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Bella," Carlisle said in a soothing voice that quickly put Bella at ease.

"You too," Bella said and looked around the place. "You have such a lovely home."

In a way it was how she imagined it, but merely reading about the place didn't seem to fill in the all inspiring atmosphere of the place.

"Actually, I'm very surprised that the house looks so normal," Edward said. "I was expecting Alice to bring out all of the decorations for Bella's first visit here."

"I wanted to," Alice said from behind them and Bella gasped and turned to see Alice standing there, obviously she had missed the approach of the two vampires that everyone else had heard. Alice looking down when she talked and her voice was very glum indeed when she added, "but no matter what I did Bella would start hyperventilating …"

Everyone else in the room laughed at that, but Bella was looking relieved that Alice hadn't made a big scene about this; she was feeling self-conscious enough without them making a noticeable fuss over her.

Alice made a face again, but seemed to shrug it off before she fluttered over to Bella with her dance like movements and then hugged her. Bella was caught off guard by this, just like she was yesterday, and yet at the same time it made her feel more comfortable. Alice was at least treating her normally and that somehow made her feel like she didn't have to do anything to prove herself.

Bella eyes then moved to Jasper, who had come in the room at the same time as Alice did, but was still standing by the door. He was smiling pleasantly at her, but she couldn't help but notice that it looked a little forced. Still, she smiled back at him, trying to quell the nerves that bordered on fear she was feeling towards the vampire. All of a sudden she felt more tranquil and generally happy. She knew exactly where this feeling was coming from, but still she took it in as much as she could.

"Hello Bella," Jasper said, his smiling seeming more genuine now, but she could see that there was more going on there.

"Jasper …" Bella started to say but just then Emmett made a very loud entrance.

"Ah, Bella you're here!" Emmett said excitedly, laughing with his booming laugh and running over to her just like Alice had … well, minus the dance movements. Emmett actually lifted her off the ground with the hug he gave her.

"Well, there goes the no making a scene," Edward grumbled bitterly.

"Ah, don't mind him, he's just jealous because he can't hug you yet," Emmett chuckled, putting Bella down and then laughed when Edward hissed … or was it at the fact that Bella face was rather red. "Sorry … did I scare you …" he then asked, though he was still laughing, she could hear that he was concerned, too.

"No … I'm fine," Bella said after she found her voice, she noticed that everyone in the room rolled their eyes, they obviously didn't believe her.

"Sorry about him, there's no controlling his enthusiasm with he's this excited," Rosalie said rolling her eyes at her mate's antics. She was smiling fondly at Bella and Bella was more than a little shocked about that. Obviously Edward's words about Rosalie liking her were true, more true than Bella thought they would be.

Rosalie sighed, noticing Bella's hesitation. "Edward told us about the book you read … I wish that wasn't your first impression of me, even if I know that is how I would feel at first. I'll try to show you that's not how I really am."

"Okay," Bella didn't know what to say to that, she didn't think that she was ever not going to feel intimated by Rosalie.

"I see I have a lot of work to do," Bella thought she heard Rosalie mutter, though she couldn't be sure, but she could definitely see the glare that was directed towards Alice. When she raised an eyebrow questioningly at that, Edward chuckled. She looked at him oddly.

"Sorry," Edward said. "It just … you really do notice everything, don't you?"

Bella just shrugged at that, not really sure what else she could say. She searched for something to talk about when her glance fell on the piano. Her eyes widen as she thought about the lullaby that Edward was supposed to make for her. Then she furrowed her eyebrows together, she wasn't sure if he actually made that lullaby or not and it made her sad to think that she might never be able to hear it.

"Do you want me to play something for you?" Edward questioned. She probably had only been looking at the piano for a few seconds, but it seemed to have been long enough to display her interest in it.

"Yes," Bella answered with a genuine smile. Even if the lullaby was never made she would still love to hear him play something. However, as soon as Edward fingers touched the keys she felt her bottom lip tremble as the incredible sweet melody washed over her.

"It's my lullaby," she whispered, astounded. It moved her to no ends knowing that this had to be the lullaby that he was going to make for her … somehow she knew that it had to be the one that he was always supposed to make for her.

Edward looked at her a little shocked; he hadn't realized that she would know about that. Still even though he wasn't looking at the keys, his fingers never seemed to miss a beat and the melody still filled the room. Edward, smiled at her then, when he noticed the look in her eyes, how moved she was by this. "Yes," he admitted in a soft tone, and he watched her closely as he continued to play.

When he had finished, Bella was in tears and Edward longed to reach out to her and wipe away the tear as he had done in the book, but he didn't.

"That was beautiful, Edward," Bella said, though she felt those words were inadequate to describe this.

"Yes, well you just have to blame the muse that inspired this piece from me, for that," Edward chuckled as she rolled her eyes.

"Holy crow," Bella said suddenly, shocking Edward so that he nearly startled at that.

"What?" Edward asked anxiously.

"Is that the time?" Bella said looking at the clock that was on the other side of the room.

"Yes," Edward said almost glaring at Bella for scaring him like that.

"Charlie will be home in half an hour," Bella said standing up, "argh, I told him I would make dinner and I haven't even started it yet …"

"Don't worry about that Bella," Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm sure that everything will be okay when you get home, though I suppose you really should be going. That's too bad, I didn't even get to show you the rest of the house … I suppose that just means you're going to have to come back tomorrow."

"Maybe," Bella said, she was curious about the rest of the house, and she didn't really get to talk to any of the other Cullens after all. She seemed to be both anxious and full of anticipation at that.

"Hm …" Edward said thoughtfully, looking at the front door. "Why don't you go to the truck while I get something …"

"What are you getting?" Bella questioned, confused.

"I thought you might want to read the books," Edward explained. "Right now we don't seem to be exactly on the same page."

"I've noticed," Bella agreed. Edward then turned to go, and she noticed rather slower than she should have, that he didn't move at his superhuman speed, but he seemed to be going at a human pace. After staring after him curiously for a second, wondering why he was doing that, Bella headed towards the front doors.

When Bella got to the door she noticed that Esme was standing there. The motherly vampire came up to her then and gave Bella a hug. "I hope to see you again soon."

"I'm sure I'll be back in no time," Bella mumbled, slightly pink at the embrace, but returned Esme's warm smile.

Bella wondered if that was the reason why Edward was talking so long, knowing that he could have gotten the books and come back to her about a hundred times by now if he had wanted to. However, when she got outside she thought she understood a little better, for she wasn't the only one outside. Jasper was standing near the house looking out to the clearing that the Cullens called their front yard and Alice was standing closely by him.

"Hello," Jasper said tentatively as she walked towards him.


	7. Feelings

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Seven

Feelings

"Hi," Bella said quietly. She couldn't help but feel a little fearful of Jasper as he stood in front of her. However this time she noticed quickly that his eyes didn't hold the same conflict that she seen earlier. When his eyes furrowed together she felt a little guilty. Obviously he could feel her fear and that caused him to be sad. "I'm sorry."

Jasper rolled his eyes and smiled at her warmly. "You have nothing to apologize for."

Bella couldn't help but feel more at ease with Jasper, she could feel the tranquility that was coming off him.

"Actually, I feel as if I should be the one that says sorry," Jasper said thoughtfully. "I'm obviously making you uncomfortable … and don't bother denying it, I know I have," he added with a smirk as Bella opened her month.

Bella gave him an awkward smile.

"I'm not going to tell you that you have no need to be afraid of me. I realize that's not going to work with you," Jasper said after a short pause as he tried to think of the best way to say what he wanted to. "I just feel like I need to talk to you about something."

"I'm listening," Bella said.

"I've been looking forward to you coming just like everyone else," Jasper said, looking back at the clearing as he felt Bella's embarrassment. He knew she didn't want any more attention on her right now. "But it seems like things are a little more complicated than I thought it would be. I think you noticed that when you first looked at me … which was part of the reason I hung back."

"Yes, I noticed. I wondered why you looked like you were forcing yourself to smile." Bella frowned, not sure why she was telling him this, it just felt like it was the right thing to do, to be honest with him at the moment. She wondered briefly if this was her own instinct or something that he was making her feel, but she shrugged, it didn't really matter now.

"I didn't think it would be this difficult," Jasper admitted. Bella shivered at those words and Jasper frowned, it definitely wasn't his intention to make her feel worse. "I'm sorry; I didn't mean to upset you. I was just trying to say that this was harder for me than I thought and I'm probably going to have to keep my distance from you as long as I'm not sure of my abilities. I didn't want you to take it personally because I really do care … I just don't want to chances anything untoward happening."

Jasper said this all in a rush, feeling oddly panicked, knowing a lot of it was coming from Bella. But there was enough of it that was his own worries as well. He could also feel her subconscious urge to be away from him, and he wanted her to hear this before she left. Actually he was planning on leaving once he'd had his say, but Bella was looking at him curiously now, so he didn't move.

"You seem better now," Bella said, furrowing her eyes. "I mean, you seem like you can handle yourself rather well at the moment."

"It's harder for me to be around you when Edward is," Jasper explained. "That's why I asked him to give me a few minutes with you …"

"Oh …" Bella said, so that's why it took Edward so long to get the books. She then looked at Jasper and frowned. "Is it really that difficult for Edward to be near me?"

"The strongest feeling I get off my brother right now is l …" Jasper's pause here was so brief that it was hardly noticeable, "his deep feeling for you."

"But there are other things he's feeling … of course there are," Bella sighed, she knew that before, but she didn't know why that made her so sad. It was probably because she was hoping something could be done about his instinctual feelings towards her.

Bella shook her head then, putting her worries about Edward aside for a second and looking Jasper in the eye. "I'm sorry. I'm sure my apprehension with you isn't making this any easier for you …"

"I would have to agree with that," Jasper said, "and I wouldn't call what you're feeling apprehension … you're afraid of me … more so than anyone else in the family. And it's real fear …"

"I'm sorry," Bella said again.

"You don't have to apologize about the way you feel," Jasper sighed.

Bella looked at him thoughtfully and then said, "in the book I read … the one that was from Edward's point of view … I … you …" she paused here, wondering what would be the best way to phrase this and she couldn't think of anything. So instead she just spat out in a rush, "you wanted to kill me …"

Jasper bowed his head, feeling guilty about this, because there was no doubt in his mind that he would have thought that at one point during the first book.

"I realized that it was so you can protect your family … and I can understand that, to a certain extent at least," Bella continued, not sure if she was trying to cheer him up or just trying to get this off her chest.

"That is true. There is nothing more important to me than Alice … and my family." Jasper said, making it clear that Alice came first, but that he also loved his family deeply. "I would do anything to protect them and I don't see humans quite the same way as most of the others do. Sometimes I have to detach myself from situations and do whatever it takes to keep us all safe.

"I'm sorry that was ever directed towards you even in a reality that will never exist. Because, Bella, you are part of my family now," Jasper said in a heartfelt manner. "And I'm not just saying that because you're with Edward. I'm talking about you."

"You don't really know me yet," Bella said, admitting her fear rather easier than she should have, it was just so easy to talk to Jasper … even when they were discussing his thoughts on killing her.

"I suppose not," Jasper allowed, "but I'm looking forward to getting to know you better."

"And how are you going to do that if you're keeping away from me?" Bella questioned archly.

"Hm … we have plenty of time," Jasper chuckled, "besides, I'm sure Edward will find a way to control himself soon enough … he is rather highly motivated to doing that after all."

"Well, I look forward to that," Bella smiled. "I don't feel as nervous around you now … but am I going to feel that way when I get home?"

Jasper laughed at that. "I promise I'm not messing with your feelings right now, Bella."

"Good," Bella chuckled.

"Well, see you soon," Jasper smiled and then he was gone.

"Goodbye, Bella," Alice said and Bella startled a little. She had almost forgotten that Alice was there because she was so still and hadn't spoken a word. "I'll see you tomorrow," she added and hugged Bella as Edward came out the door.

"You ready to go?" Edward asked and Bella nodded as they headed towards her truck. Edward again opened the passenger's side door for her before getting in the driver's seat. Bella didn't protest against this because she had paid just enough attention to the road on the way down here to know that she wouldn't be likely to find her way back.

"Now that wasn't so bad, was it?" Edward asked over the roar of the engine as he started the truck. "My family wasn't anything to worry about."

"I suppose not," Bella admitted. "It went better than I thought it would go … though it's still odd to know they all like me so much already."

"You better get used to it, that's the way it's going to be," Edward chuckled. "How was your conversation with Jasper?"

"You weren't listening?" Bella questioned, she highly doubted that.

Edward eyes twinkled with amusement. "Of course I was listening. I just thought it would be polite to ask you."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I think things will be better."

"That's good," Edward smiled and they were now on the highway, the truck starting to groan because of the speed Edward was going. Edward grimaced at the vehicle briefly before he looked back at Bella. "So what's the plan tonight, do you want me to come over as soon as you're done with dinner or do you have other plans?"

"Actually, I do have to do homework, I didn't do anything yesterday and I'm already behind," Bella admitted with a pout.

"I can help you with that," Edward offered.

"I think you would be more of a distraction than anything else," Bella admitted glumly.

"I could do the work for you … it wouldn't take me any time," Edward said.

"Showoff," Bella made a face and then shook her head. "I don't want to cheat."

"And I don't really want you to cheat either," Edward said. "I just don't like the idea of not being with you for any longer than I have to be."

"I know the feeling," Bella agreed. "Just give me a few hours, Edward, and then you can come over and I can read the book."

"So you don't want to read the book with _Jacob_?" Edward questioned, trying not to say Jacob's name harshly, but he didn't quite manage that.

Bella made a face again. "And have another person who knows what I was thinking … it's bad enough that your family knows! I'll just tell him the main points or something like that."

"Okay," Edward smiled and then frowned again. "What am I supposed to do for two hours without you … hm … maybe I can wait in your room …"

"No," Bella shook her head. "That wouldn't really help with the distraction theory."

"Fine," Edward sighed, but he already made up his mind that he wasn't really going to go far, he'd wait for her in the tree he had been staying in. They were pulling in the driveway as he thought this and soon afterward she was walking into her house alone. She went to the fridge, trying to think about what she was going to make for dinner when she found a steak marinating and a few baked potatoes that just needed to be warmed up before she could serve them. There was a note on them;

 _I knew you would need this._

 _Alice_

Bella smiled at the note, and took the food out of the fridge and put in the oven. Okay, so there were some advantages of having a friend who could see the future.

Charlie got home about half an hour later and dinner was nearly ready by that time. The meal they had was rather quiet; neither Swan was much for talking. Not long after that Charlie was watching one of his games and Bella went to work on her homework. Her mind wasn't completely on her work, it kept straying to Edward, wondering what he was doing now, but she kept focusing herself back to her work. The moment that she was finished with her last math problem she heard a noise at the window (she was sure that he did it on purpose so she wouldn't get scared), and Edward was standing there.

 **A/N: Okay, I know this chapter is short but that's because it was supposed to be part of the last chapter. I think the next chapter will be short too. It will be about Bella's thoughts on Twilight as she reads it.**


	8. Reading Twilight

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Eight

Reading Twilight

"Hello," Bella smiled at the godlike figure standing by her window and he smiled back. "I guess you know I'm finished."

"Yes, and it only took you an hour and forty seven minutes," Edward smiled. "I get to have an extra thirteen minutes with you."

Bella rolled her eyes and then laughed at that comment. She stayed where she was sitting, watching him as he made his way towards her, picking up one of the books that was on her bed and handing it to her.

"So how is this going to work … do you want to read out loud?" Edward questioned and he smiled at the idea. It would be interesting seeing her react to everything that happened in the book.

However, Bella was shaking her head. "I prefer not to …"

"You don't have to be embarrassed with me," Edward informed her.

"I still prefer not to," Bella shrugged, and opened the book, _Twilight_ , at the middle.

"What are you doing?" Edward exclaimed, looking at her incredulously.

"I'm reading a book, what does it look like I'm doing?" Bella furrowed her eyebrows, had she missed something? Didn't he want her to read this book now?

"Exactly, and you're supposed to start a book from the beginning … not jump into it at the middle," Edward explained.

"But I already know what happens in the beginning," Bella whined, "and I really want to know what's going to happen next."

"So you're not curious at all?" Edward said raising an eyebrow. There was an odd smirk on his face, like he knew he was about to say something that she couldn't disagree with. "About what you thought when we first met … what your take was on all the incredible things that were happening around you?"

"Nope," Bella said, though he could see that her eyes were brimming with curiosity.

"Really," Edward smirked, "I know I'm curious to know what I thought for the first half of this book, even the hard to read parts … I think it would be interesting to see what I was thinking."

"Well, that's nice, but I want to read from here," Bella said stubbornly, the page turned to the chapter entitled Balance.

"If that's what you want," Edward pouted, "I just thought that you would like to know everything that's going on …"

"You don't play fair," Bella grumbled. He had made her curious now and she was finding herself wondering what she had felt in the beginning, wondering if it was what she was feeling now.

"Of course not," Edward chuckled.

"But I still want to know what's going to happen next," Bella pouted this time, indecisive of what she should do next.

"Bella, you have plenty of time, will it really be that hard to wait a day or two?" Edward asked, amused about something more than her dilemma.

"What does that smirk mean?" Bella questioned.

"I had to wait twenty four days … you have no idea how hard that was," Edward smiled, but his voice was a little distant as he thought of that time.

"I'm sorry," Bella said soothingly, she didn't like the distance in his voice. "I supposed I can read from the beginning. It wouldn't be so awful."

"Thanks so much for your sacrifice," Edward said with a fake frown. "I know how difficult this must be for you."

Bella rolled her eyes and turned the pages back to the beginning. "Happy now?"

"Immensely," Edward smiled at her pouting expression.

Bella started to read then, looking up every once in a while as she felt his gaze on her. She would blush whenever she did this, feeling self conscious as she read about what would have been her first thoughts of Edward if neither one of them had never gotten the books. The first chapter went by like this. She was barely paying attention to the book as she had already known what was going to happen here. She had already lived through this day so it didn't matter much. She instantly felt grateful that she listened to him about reading from the beginning, it was going to take her a while to get used to having him in the room, watching her read.

After she finished the first chapter she looked up at him, not sure what she should do now … she didn't have any questions about this, it was straightforward, but she felt that it would make sense if they discussed things. Why else would he be there? Well, other than the fact that he wanted to be close to her that is.

"I'm done with the first chapter," Bella announced, he was sitting in the rocking chair in the corner of the room and she was in her bed, having gone there to get more comfortable.

"Hm … did you find it interesting?" Edward questioned, his brows furrowed. He was looking almost disappointed about something.

"Not really … your version had a lot more information in it … and I already know why you're glaring at me," Bella shrugged. "Oh … about that … do you want the copy of _Midnight Sun_ … it's on the shelf there …" she added pointing at the bundle of papers.

"Yes, but I think for now I'll rather watch you read," Edward smiled at her. "Though I must say I was hoping that you would have reacted more to things …"

"Maybe you'll get your wish once I read something new," Bella told him.

"Then carry on reading," Edward said, "Don't mind me."

So Bella started reading the next chapter, again she found it to be a little mundane, though there was one part that caught her off guard.

"Wow, I never thought Charlie would feel that way!" Bella said. "He really thinks Carlisle is something …"

"Yes, we were quite surprised about that, too," Edward chuckled. "It was nice to hear."

The only other reaction to the chapter Bella made was grimacing when she read about her gym class. She could just hear Emmett laughing at her for that. In fact, she could actually hear Edward chuckling as she read that, her face must have been showing her annoyance.

Again she announced that she was on the next chapter, feeling that it was best this way and she noticed that he stiffened at that. Knowing what was going to happen she gave him a reassuring smile and then she frowned.

"Edward," she said before she read on. "Tyler is still going to have a car accident isn't he? I mean nothing we have done yet would change him deciding to take that turn to quickly."

Edward grimaced; his eyes looked thoughtful, but also dark. "I won't let you get hurt."

Bella rolled her eyes. "I know that. I just … I don't want anyone else getting hurt either."

"Well, I suppose we could have someone driving in front of Tyler … make sure he goes a reasonable speed around that corner," Edward said. "I'll talk to Alice about that."

Bella nodded her head and then started reading again. Again the only thing that really caught her off guard with this chapter was Charlie's unspoken concern for her … that he was actually taking care of her, by putting chains on her truck's tires when she had always been the one to take care of her mother.

Edward didn't want to disturb her reverie so he waited for her to start reading again before he asked softly, "what did you just read?"

"Charlie put chains on my truck," Bella answered him, her voice just as soft.

"He cares about you very deeply," Edward said with a caring smile. "You're probably the most important thing in his life."

Bella didn't know what to say to that, but again she was touched. It had only been five days since she moved back here, too short of a time to know if he was right or not, but she couldn't help but feel the sincerity in Edward's voice.

Still she started to read again. She got through most of this chapter with no trouble, she knew what was going to happen after all; there was nothing to worry about. It was a little odd, hearing her thoughts about how she dismissed some of the things and held fast to the others. It was intriguing hearing her thought process as she was faced with the incredible and unbelievable things happening around her.

"Um …" she said as she put down the book, it was starting to get late and she had to get to bed soon … she would just have to wait to read the rest tomorrow.

"Finished for tonight," Edward said cheerfully, he could tell that she was finding the book more intriguing the longer she read, and naturally he found himself wishing he knew what she was thinking about it.

"Yes," Bella said. "I was just wondering something."

"What's that?" Edward asked.

"When did you realize that you couldn't read my mind while you were reading this book?" Bella asked. "Was it during our first conversation … when I told you I was an open book … or was it sometime during this chapter?"

"I was aware of that fact during that whole conversation, I made more mistakes than I should have," Edward chuckled. "But no, it wasn't until we were in the hospital and I was shocked when you told me everything that you saw me do to save your life that I knew for sure."

"That must have been unnerving to find out," Bella said.

"Yes, it was, but not nearly as unnerving as the truth is," Edward said smirking at her. "How I wish I could hear just one thought from you. Emmett and Alice found this all very amusing …"

"Argh," Bella groaned.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to remind you that they..." Edward started,

"No, I remembered that your whole family has read this," Bella grumbled, angrily. "I can just imagine everything that Emmett would laugh at... it's quite annoying actually."

"Sorry, but there's nothing I can do about that now," Edward frowned.

"I know that," Bella sighed. "I think the worst part of it is that I can't even be legitimately mad at them, because I did the same thing to you."

Edward chuckled at that. "Hm... are you sorry that you read the book then?"

"No," Bella shook her head. "I think I have a better understanding of you... a lot better than I do in this book at least. A little embarrassment is worth the trade off for that."

"Goodnight, Bella," Edward said softly, standing as he said it and walking closer to her.

"You don't have to go," Bella said. "You can stay... in the chair."

"Tempting," Edward said, indeed tempted, but he wanted to try something first. He had been jealous of how easily his family was able to be near her today, and he wanted that, too. He reached out his hand, slowly but deliberately and she didn't move or shy away from him. In fact it seemed like she was moving into him, though she was trying to steady herself. Then he was touching her cheek, her skin was warm, but that was nothing to the shock that went though him, burning through his icy skin, awaking things in him that he never knew before.

"Wow," Bella said breathlessly as he lowered his hand. She had felt the electric current going through her, making the touch feel like it went so much deeper than possible.

"Yes," Edward said, as he lowered his hand. It was a mistake to touch her now, because he now never wanted to stop touching her. He knew he wasn't ready for that; prolonged exposure to her would only drive him mad. Still, he was glad he had touched her all the same, that was one hurdle down and only a million or so to go before he would be ready.

"Goodnight, Bella," he then repeated.

"Goodnight, Edward," Bella said back, this time letting him go, knowing that he wouldn't be far.

The next day Bella woke up to the wonderful scent of the Orange Blossoms. She could definitely get used to that, though waking up next to Edward might be better. She got ready for school quickly, and was tempted to read part of the book now, but she had a feeling that Edward wouldn't like that... he wanted to see her read. She didn't know why that would be so fascinating to him, but she didn't want to disappoint him if she could help it. Besides, she was sure to come across something that she wanted to talk to him about eventually and it would be more convenient if he was there.

She got to school early, in hopes that he would be there too, and of course he was. She wasn't sure if he had driven there with his siblings, or merely ran there from her house, but she didn't think of asking that because as soon as she saw him it didn't matter. After they exchanged pleasantries Bella asked Edward what he did last night.

"I read," Edward said. " _Midnight Sun_ was very interesting."

"You read the whole book?" Bella questioned, it had taken her more than a day to read it and she always considered herself a fast reader... of course there was all the discussions she had with Jacob but still...

"Yes, me and my family," Edward said. "It's much the same as _Twilight_ I have to admit, but it's nice to finally know what I was thinking. I must tell you that I was called an idiot more times in those four hours than I have ever been in my whole life... even more so than when I was reading _Twilight!_ "

"It couldn't have been all that much fun to read," Bella said, after listening to him laugh for a minute; she liked the sound of his musical laughter.

"No... It wasn't," Edward said, frowning now, and Bella wished that she hadn't brought it up. "I thought it would have been bad reading my original thoughts about you... especially my deadly thoughts, but it was bearable... honestly, I think the hardest chapter for all of us to read was the fourth... when..."

"Alice had her vision of me," Bella supplied, for she didn't like the look in his eyes, it was dark.

"Yes," Edward said, amused that she would say that, when he was thinking about the family meeting where they talked about eliminating their threat... her.

"Yes, that would be hard for you to hear," Bella said comfortingly, and he looked at her, shaking his head with a smirk. She was clearly trying to soothe him as he talked about this; that was so his Bella. The bell rang in the distance and Bella startled, looking at the school building with a frown. She wished that she could spend more time with Edward, but it would just have to wait until lunch.

Lunch couldn't have come soon enough, and she was a little surprised to find that Edward was sitting at a table alone waiting for her. She thought for sure Alice would have forced her to sit with the rest of the Cullens, but it looked like they were still giving her time to get used to just Edward.

She told Edward then that she wanted to read more today than she was able to yesterday and to do that it would be better if she went home today. That way she could get her homework done and cook dinner before Charlie got home and she would have the rest of the evening with Edward and the book. Edward agreed with this easily enough and they spent the rest of lunch asking each other questions.

She did exactly what she had said she would and everything worked occurring to plan. By seven o'clock she was in her bed, Edward was sitting across from her with a bemused expression on his face and she was reading the next chapter. She grimaced as she read the chapter title and remembered what was going to happen. She seriously hoped that she could avoid this happening in this reality. After all, she was spending all her time with Edward so those boys couldn't possibly think of asking her out... to a girls' choice dance... right?

She knew that she made faces at all the right moments as she read this chapter and the next, because she could almost feel Edward's amusement coming off him, though every time she looked up his face was arranged in an innocent expression.

However, the chapter after that was more interesting. This was the chapter that didn't have Edward in it at all, so it was completely new to her. She smiled when the book talked about going to the tide pools, and at her first thoughts about Jacob. She could see that she had liked him from the start and was annoyed with herself for using him like she did to get the information she wanted out of him.

"What's the matter, Bella?" Edward questioned, when he noticed the expression on her face. She seemed close to tears and she didn't know if it was because she was angry with herself or because she was feeling so guilty about this.

"It's nothing," Bella said. "I just wish... I wish I didn't pump Jacob for information like this."

"Yes, I do, too," Edward said, though he was thinking that it probably only encouraged the pup's infatuation with his Bella. "I'm sure he understands."

"Yes," Bella agreed, still downcast. "At least I could tell Jacob that it's not all his fault... if Sam hadn't said what he did about the Cullens I never would have questioned Jacob."

Edward was frowning at that. His thoughts on the tiny town of La Push and the werewolves he had thought where gone, yet they still existed.

"He really is a werewolf now, isn't he?" Bella asked, reading the expression on his face and remembering her talk with Jacob about this. Edward looked at her with surprise... how would she know that when they didn't figure that out until the second book? Again, she answered him as if she was the mind reader and his mind was completely open to her. "Jacob... er... said he thought that Sam was a werewolf... that Sam has been at council meetings and he remembered a time when Sam went missing."

"Yes, he's a werewolf," Edward answered softly and Bella paled a little, trying to calm herself down.

"And Jacob..." Bella started to question.

"He's just a boy," Edward said. He was wondering if there was a way for things to work out so that Jacob... and most of the other younger boys wouldn't have to turn into monsters.

"And is he going to change?" Bella asked, reading the hesitation on his face.

Edward sighed, "I can't be sure... but he did in the books."

"Oh, Jake," Bella sighed, wishing there was something she could do to stop that.

"I think you should read now," Edwards suggested.

"Right," Bella said, still thinking about what was going to happen to her poor friend.

However, she did read the rest of this chapter and quickly moved on to the next. She found her nightmare to be disturbing. It was odd how much there was actually true in that dream, even if most of it seemed unbelievable. She found her search on the internet entertaining. She supposed she really didn't have anything better to look at, but still, real vampires wouldn't be that easy to look up. The way she made her decision about what to do about Edward was interesting, too, but she already knew that she didn't have a choice in this matter. For her, she didn't even have to meet Edward in person to know that he was the one for her and having him there in front of her must only have strengthened that thought.

She moved on to the next chapter, reading the first part as quick as she could, she didn't really want to know what she thought about when she was being herded into a sick trap. However, she had to ask Edward one thing about this man before she kept on reading.

"Edward," she said in a shaky voice. She looked up at him then and saw his face was set in a hard scowl, his eyes burned with anger. He clearly knew what she was reading at the moment.

"Yes," he said curtly, obviously trying to disguise his anger.

"What are you going to do about, _Lonnie_?" Bella asked, not hiding her fear when she said the name. She no longer feared for herself, of course, she had Edward and he would protect her if she were ever to face this man in this reality. However, she was afraid for the girl that would take her place... or the girl that came before her... before her in the book, but maybe not in this reality.

"Alice has been looking for him since we finished reading," Edward informed her in a stiff, barely controlled voice. "It was difficult for her... not knowing his name, or anything else that made him stand out, but we have hopes that she will find him now. If not, we will be going to Port Angles soon... and making sure that he doesn't do anything there."

"Okay," Bella nodded her head, feeling relieved about that. It made reading that part of the story easier, she knew this man was going to be taken care of and so she didn't have to worry about anything.

The ease of mind which she had now, made it that much easier for her to enjoy reading the rest of the chapter and the next one. Her thoughts on these matters were interesting to hear. She didn't really like the fact that she was so afraid of Edward leaving though... she could understand her feelings of course, with the way that Edward was behaving, and she would feel them too if Edward really decided to leave, but she didn't think he was going to go anywhere. No, if he was going to leave, she assured herself, he never would have showed himself to her in the first place. It was as simple as that so she had no fear of him leaving in this reality, but she wasn't so sure about in the books.

"I think that's enough for today," Edward said when she informed him that she had finished the chapter. He was looking at the clock and it was later than it was the other night.

Bella looked at the clock, too, and sighed. "Yes, I suppose it is... and I've almost caught up with myself, now..."

"Well, then you'll have something new and interesting to read tomorrow," Edward chuckled.

"Right," Bella said, suddenly feeling sleepy and it wasn't long after that that she actually did fall asleep.

The next day passed much the same as the last one did. She enjoyed her lunch with Edward as they talked about things, getting to know each other more soundly, getting more comfortable with each other. After she had to say goodbye to him after Biology, she was dazed, which was never good before gym and she may have caused a few accidents because of it. Then there was her allotted homework time which she squeezed in with making dinner. Seeing as Charlie wasn't home yet, and she was used to his presence while she read, she let Edward help her with homework this time. She had to admit it did take a little longer than it should have, but the fact that he was with her was well worth it.

Again, it was seven o'clock that she was able to start reading, Edward taking his seat in the rocking chair. Bella read through this chapter without any questions or comments, but she did blush and huff a lot as she remembered all the things that he listened to. The next chapter was much the same; however, when she got about half way through she noticed the chapter went farther along than the other book. She started reading eagerly when she noticed this, it was all going to be new to her now and she was finally going to get answers to some of her questions.

She did however have to ask Edward about what they were going to do about Angela and Ben, seeing as he was the reason that they got together in the first place. Edward sighed and said that they would have to think of something, because he didn't think the plan in _Midnight Sun_ would work, seeing as everyone was talking about his and Bella's relationship already. As you can imagine, Bella made a face at the mention of the attention she was getting, but was glad at least that it was bearable to her as long as she was with Edward.

Though most of the rest of the chapter was filled with questions that lacked answers, at least in the book, she had answered out loud to Edward in the last few days, she was intrigued how the chapter ended. The Blacks had come to visit her, Billy seeing Edward. She quickly went on to the next chapter, wondering how she was going to handle that. She was a little bit upset about how she treated Jacob, hardly noticing him because she was worried about what Billy would say but at least it showed that she did like him and that Jacob was okay with her and Edward's relationship.

Then the chapter moved on to show her making excuses so that Edward wouldn't get in trouble if anything bad happened to her. Bella paused there for awhile, thinking about what she would do at the moment if she was in her own shoes, surely she would have done the same thing. Looking up at Edward she knew that she would, though she knew that it would be a futile effort. It wouldn't matter if anyone blamed him for her death or not, he would not be able to get over that, she had heard his thoughts enough to believe that.

"What is it?" Edward questioned, seeing her pensive expression, but not knowing where she was reading from so he couldn't possibly guess what she was thinking.

"I was just reading about lying to Jessica and Charlie about..." Bella said, pausing for a second to think of the best way to phrase it, "going with you to the meadow."

"You mean when you covered for me in case I slipped up," Edward said, a little harshness in his voice that she hadn't heard before.

"I knew you wouldn't," Bella shrugged and Edward glared at her.

"I was hoping that you were going to take some more care with your safety than you did in the book, but it looks like that will be too much for you," Edward groaned. "At least in this particular case I don't think we can keep it a secret... We've been together too much for that."

"That's what I was thinking," Bella chuckled. "But I wouldn't have done this even if everyone would have believed me, because there wouldn't have been a point. I know that you would never hurt me."

Edward rolled his eyes, exasperated at the comment, even though he believed it to be true. He was never going to risk being alone with her like that until he had control of himself.

Bella began reading the book again soon after that, her curiosity getting the better of her. This was what she'd been dying to read about since Saturday night when she had finished _Midnight Sun_ with Jacob. Finally, she was going to know what happened once she got to the meadow with Edward. She read on to the next chapter, a little annoyed the other one stopped when it was just starting to get good. She didn't really care about reading about him walking into the sun, for she already knew about that. Still, she made a mental note to have Edward show her what he looked like in the sun as soon as it was possible. She was curious to know if it was like she had pictured in her head. Knowing that everything about Edward was so much better than she had imagined, she had a feeling that this would be, too.

"What are you doing?" Bella said out loud as soon as she got to the part where Edward was showing, quite descriptively how powerful a vampire was.

"Um..." Edward said, bowing his head, because he could see in her bemused expression what part she was reading about. "I have no idea... I wondered that myself when we read that..."

"You seem so excited," Bella chuckled. "If you weren't acting so frightening I might want to see that..."

"Of course you would," Edward rolled his eyes. "Just keep reading, Bella."

"Okay," Bella chuckled again and then started reading, smug at the fact that things indeed seemed to have worked out for them just as she thought they would and that they had obviously grown a lot closer after that trip to the forest. Of course everything wasn't solved there, he was still affected by her scent, but he wasn't shying away from her any more. It gave her hope that someday soon Edward would be able to hold her like that too. And then he just had to ruin it by...

"You took me running..." Bella said, paling at just the thought of it, how it was described in the book. "Even after how I panicked just driving in the car with you."

"Bella," Edward said exasperated. "You must know that I would never let you get hurt like that... that you would be completely safe in my arms..."

"I suppose," Bella admitted grudgingly.

"Besides, I think you're going to like how I try to help you recover from this," Edward smiled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. He was highly anticipating Bella's reaction to their first kiss.

"Oh," Bella said. She could feel the blush coming to her face as she watched his angelic face smile at her in a way that made her stomach turn in the best way. As soon as she could break away from his gaze, she read the book again with anticipation.

"We kiss," she breathed out seconds later and beamed at Edward, who was smiling back, knowing that she didn't read the whole kiss yet as she wasn't embarrassed enough. No, Bella was just so excited, she thought it would have taken longer than this... she wasn't even sure if it was possible with how conflicted he seemed to be, and she was elated that it was.

She turned back to the book and as soon as she read her reaction in the book her cheeks started to burn crimson; she had attacked him. And he'd read this with his whole family. She looked up at him, she could hear his silent chuckles and she tried to glare at him, but she was too embarrassed to pull it off.

"Ah... that's what I was expecting," Edward chuckled at the weak glare.

"Stop it," Bella grumbled. Then she sighed, knowing that she had only made it harder on him, "I'm sorry I reacted like that..."

"I'm not," Edward said, and he wasn't, as long as she wasn't hurt he would always like that kind of reaction. "I like that I'm irresistible."

Bella rolled her eyes, still quite red in the face and then ducked her head back in the book in hopes that it would hide her face, knowing it was a futile attempt. Bella read through the next chapter in a daze, still feeling elated about knowing that she could eventually kiss Edward and that it probably wouldn't take too much longer for that to happen and embarrassed by her reactions to the kiss. Soon enough, though, she was caught up in the book again, lost in the details that he was telling her. She liked it when he was talking about his family; most of that stuff was new to her in a way, a different perspective at least.

However, the part she liked best was when she read that he stayed with her all night and more importantly that he had held her all night long. Again, she couldn't wait for that to happen, she knew that she had to be patient for a little while, but she hoped it wouldn't take too long.

The next chapter, she got a little nervous reading the title as she was clearly going to go to the Cullens' house in this chapter. She wasn't sure of the kind of reception she was going to get from most of them, knowing it couldn't possibly be as warm as the one that she had gotten a few days ago. This was what they would have thought of her if they didn't already know everything about her and somehow that made her feel nervous. However, at the start of the chapter, she found herself relaxing because of the simple conversation she was having with Edward. It seemed that she wasn't awkward with him anymore... or at least not as awkward as she was before and she loved how close they were getting.

Of course as soon as their second kiss was mentioned and the fact that she passed out she was blushing again, and Edward chuckled. She really wished she could have known what she did to him when they kissed, hoping that it would affect him similarly to her, but unfortunately she couldn't. She read on, not looking at Edward, though she could feel his amused eyes on her the whole time.

Bella was pleased to see that the meeting with the Cullens was similar to the one that she had a few days ago, they really did seem to accept her. Though she did note the differences, ones that she was expecting, but they still made her frown. Rosalie clearly didn't like her at all and wasn't about to make the attempt to try. Again she wondered what might have happened in the books that would have changed the blonde vampire's opinion of her. She wasn't too worried about Emmett's absence, she knew it wouldn't take much for her book self to make him come over to her side; one conversation would probably do it. Jasper, on the other hand, though trying to make the attempt to be friendly recently seemed to be more standoffish in the book. Was that because she appealed more to him there... or because she didn't really mean anything to him, she was just Edward's girlfriend. She didn't know, and wasn't likely to find out.

She smiled when Edward started playing the lullaby for her, she could hear the notes in her head, which was only made all the better when Edward started humming the tune too.

"How did you know I was reading that?" Bella questioned with a smile after he had finished the song.

"You had this smile on your face... I noticed it while I was playing the music for you earlier, I thought this might be what it meant," Edward explained, pleased that he was right.

Soon after that she was reading about Carlisle's past, which she found to be very intriguing indeed. So much so that she didn't even pause to tell Edward that she was moving on to the next chapter, so she could hear more about Edward's father.

It was rather amazing reading about how much Carlisle was willing to do so that he wouldn't be a danger to humans... so that he was even able to save people and make a real difference in the world. He really was one of the most compassionate people that she'd ever met.

When she got to the part about Carlisle being with the other vampires in Italy, having no idea what problems they were to cause them in the future books, she asked Edward how many vampire existed in the world.

"I can't be sure, I'm sure the number chances every day," Edward said thoughtfully, thinking mostly of the south and the armies that were still there. "More than you're thinking I'm sure, but not too many when you compare it to the human populations."

"That's not really an answer, you know," Bella pouted.

"Thousands at least... perhaps even tens of thousands," Edward rolled his eyes.

"Oh... okay," Bella gulped and then started reading again, enjoying the rest of Carlisle's story, especially the part with Edward in it, but it was a little sad to hear about him being ill.

"Wow," Bella said as she finished the chapter, caught off guard by Edward's carefree nature at the end of it. Again she longed to see that happy and free Edward, the one that didn't shy away from her at all. The one that must have been in complete or near to complete control as he could get.

"What?" Edward questioned again trying to read her expression.

"Um... I didn't know you played baseball," Bella said, not really sure how to explain her thoughts so she went on to another thing she was thinking about. "That must be interesting to see."

"It really is," Edward said, controlling his expression easily because he knew this was coming. Of course she was going to read about what was going to happen next, but there was no need for her to worry about it tonight, not when it was time for her to go to bed now.

"I guess my curiosity is just going to have to wait until tomorrow," Bella frowned when she noticed the time. "But at least it's Friday and I should be able to finish the book then!"

"You'll still have three more books after that," Edward reminded her.

"I know," Bella nodded her head. "I'll get to them soon enough."

 **A/N: Wow, seriously this took a lot longer than I thought and I'm not even finished yet. However, I'm behind again, writing twice a week is too much for everything else I have to do, and this chapter is longer than any other except for the first so it should be enough. The next chapter is obviously going to be Bella continuing to read** _ **Twilight**_ **, and it's going to be more emotional than this one... everything bad happens in the next chapters. Edward and Bella are also going to have more discussions in the next chapter, I promise. So until next week, I hope this is good enough.**


	9. Reading Twilight Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom** **and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Nine

Reading Twilight Part Two

The next day was the same as the last two, though she noticed that Edward sat much closer to her when she had settled in on her bed. He was sitting in the chair that was usually in front of her computer, and she had an ominous feeling about this, because she could read in his expression that he was worried about something. She tried to shake off that feeling as she read the first chapter, and mostly accomplished her task because she was so drawn in by the story, though the tension wouldn't leave her stomach completely.

She was a little upset that Billy would think about involving Charlie in this and she wondered what that might mean when he found out in this reality that Jacob already knows about vampires and more importantly that he has a positive outlook about them. She hoped that Jacob would be able to infuse the werewolves with an understanding of the Cullens, but she had a feeling that it was going to be harder than that to convince them.

Bella frowned when she was telling Charlie about going out with Edward. That seemed like an awkward conversation she was going to have sooner than she'd like. She was surprised the gossip hadn't reached him yet, about her spending all her lunches with one of the reclusive Cullens, but she knew it was only a matter of time. Then soon after that they were at the game and she was amazed by just how it was described, knowing that seeing it would be even more amazing than reading about it.

All too soon though, everything changed and she stiffened; the nomads were coming to the game... they were going to know she was a human.

"It's okay, Bella," Edward said in a soothing voice, and she looked up at him, her eyes wide. "They will never touch you... this will never happen..."

Bella swallowed, she hadn't even read about who the nomads were yet, but she knew they must cause a lot of trouble if he was promising her something like this. She nodded her head, believing him... he would never let anything harm her. That still didn't make reading the next part any easier for her.

Reading the tense meeting between the two covens, how Edward had jumped in to protect her, putting himself between her and a danger that could actually hurt him. Fear started to fill her then as she realized that Edward could get hurt, that the others could too. It was nice to know that they had numbers on their side, that the nomads likely wouldn't do anything when outnumbered like that. Their survival instinct was too strong. But she still worried about what was going to happen once everyone started moving on their own...

She worried as Edward ran her back to the jeep with Alice and Emmett at her side, wondering what the plan was and how much danger they really were in. She was so worried about Edward's family, the people she was already feeling connected to (though she hadn't had a real chance to get to know them yet), that she didn't even think of her own danger until it was mentioned in the book. Charlie! How could she not think of him... how much danger he was in because of her? What could she possibly do to protect him?

"It's alright, Bella, it's going to be all right," Edward whispered to her, so softly that she could barely hear it through her worried haze, but by making his presence known and he made her relax slightly.

She didn't even pause her reading though, she needed to know that her dad was going to be safe, that she was going to protect him somehow. She needed to know the Cullens were going to be safe too, she couldn't imagine what she would do if any of them where hurt because of her. However, there was a firm thought in her head that made her calmer than she thought she would be. She had the reassurance that the Cullens all cared about her now, and she knew that they must all have been okay... safe if that was the case... at least she tried clinging to that conviction as she continued to read. She almost smiled when she read about Emmett's response to her ideas, she was right; one conversation was enough to change his mind about her.

She kept reading through the next chapter, tears coming to her eyes as she read about the goodbyes she would have to say, but that was nothing to what happened when she was screaming at her dad - when she was hurting him, so badly. She put the book down when she read the line that was inexcusable for her to say. She felt sick knowing how much that must have hurt him, and she felt Edward's cold arms wrap around her in a fluid motion, whispering consoling words to her, trying to make her calm down. He repeated over and over again that this wasn't going to happen, and eventually she was able to nod.

Edward went back to his seat, giving her a sad look, his body was obviously tense, but he was in complete control of himself. He was too worried about her to worry about the burn he felt; he couldn't stand seeing her in this kind of pain. He picked up the book when he noticed that her hands were shaking and tears still filled her eyes and read the rest of the chapter to her.

He could see her worry for his family as he read the words; he could see the pain in her eyes as if her thoughts in the book were an echo of her real thoughts. He hadn't liked seeing them there, but it was much too late to stop now and this was something that she needed to know. Still he wished that they would have waited awhile so he could have at least held her when things got rough like this. When he got to Jasper's words at the end of the chapter he read them with such passion that she could clearly hear him telling her she was more than worth it.

She took the book back from him, feeling that she could handle reading now; surely in the next chapter nothing too horrible will happen. She was right, nothing too bad happened, just time with Alice (and Jasper too, though he didn't do much talking). She eyed Edward curiously when she got to the vampire issue, dying to know what his thoughts on that were, but she wasn't really up for that talk right now. So she kept reading, and felt unnerved when Alice's visions showed the ballet studio that might have been the one near her home in Phoenix.

When she moved on to the next chapter it didn't take her long to break down again, this time worse than the last time. She had caused her dad pain and she would always feel guilty about that, but she knew he was safe so she would live with it. However, as soon as she read the unexpected voice she dropped the book as her heart raced in her chest, and she curled herself in a ball. Her mother... He had her mother!

Edward's arms were around her again and he pulled her into his lap resting her head against his chest. With his held breath he pushed out the words that it would allow. "He doesn't have her... it's a bluff..."

Bella's breath caught there, and then she let it out in a slow relieved sigh. Her shoulders were still shaking though. She couldn't quite dispel the image of her mother cowering in front of a sadistic vampire intent on killing her. It took a long time for her breathing to even out and Edward held her closely to him, there was no thought of moving away from her now. He was in control enough to allow her this comfort; she needed him too much for him to think about moving.

Edward again picked up the book when Bella moved her hand towards it, and he read for her. He read as she realized that she would now confront this monster; that she would go to him to try to save her mother. Her mother who was thankfully safe and far away from this fiend. She squeezed herself towards Edward, hoping that she was some comfort to him, for she knew this was now harder for him to hear than her. After all, she was the only one in danger now, and she meant everything to Edward. Her note to him in particular seemed hard for him to read, hard for her to hear.

"I'm sorry, Edward," Bella murmured into his chest, her tears dampening his shirt.

"I understand, Bella," Edward said in a soft voice, he did understand, but it didn't make the thought of losing her any easier.

"But I didn't," Bella mumbled, "I didn't know how much this would hurt you..."

"If you did, if you knew that..." Edward started to ask, but he didn't want to tell her that he wouldn't have lived if she would have died, she didn't need to hear that right now. "Would you have still gone?"

Bella shivered at the choice she would have to make there.

"Sorry, I didn't..." Edward said softly, knowing that he had upset her more.

"I can read now," Bella said, wiping the remaining tears from her eyes and tried to take the book from Edward, but his grip was unmovable.

"I don't mind," Edward said the words sounding forced.

"Please, Edward," Bella begged in a small voice, she couldn't let him read this. He had already had to bear it once; she didn't want him to go through it again. She didn't want to know what pain she would cause him reading this. She was surprised when his grip loosened and she was holding the book in front of her. Edward's hand that was holding the book was now around her, and she could feel the protective grip he had on her now.

"I should tell you now, that we were all quite surprised that you were able to get away from two vampires," Edward said, trying to make his voice sound light. "You're much more devious than we thought you could be."

Bella smiled sadly. "I must have been really determined."

Bella then started reading, impatiently at first because she just wanted to get to it over with already, she knew she would get away now and she knew that she would have to face the monster. She assumed that Edward must save her. Why else would there be three other books for her to read? She knew she was going to get hurt, it would explain the hold that Edward had on her now, the slight shudders she felt as he had read the last chapter. What she didn't know was what was going to happen before all that started. What James had to say about the other prey that got away from him.

"Alice," Bella gasped.

"Hm..." Edward hummed agreement.

"She was... poor Alice," Bella sighed, thinking about how sad it must have been for her as a human locked away in an asylum. "Did... was this a good thing... hearing how she was turned?"

"I'm not sure," Edward answered, "her past isn't a complete blank any more, but it's not exactly good news."

"Poor Alice," Bella repeated, before reading again. She tried to make sure that she didn't flinch or show any surprise at what was to happen to her in a future that must have changed by now. She knew that Edward was tense, hurting already and she refused to let him hurt more than he had to. It wasn't too difficult, reading about her pain was sure to be a lot easier than to read about his... it had to be, even though reading about James' torture of her was hard.

When she read the next chapter title she felt extremely better. The Angel, her angel, was there to save her she was sure. However, it was harder to read than she thought it would be because it showed the pain that she had caused him, she could hear the hurt in the words that were written on the page as he and Carlisle tried to save her. When they got to the bite on her arm she looked at Edward, wondering if she would be a vampire for the rest of the books. She seriously doubted that when she saw the look in his eyes, but she wasn't sure how that could be. She was even more shocked when she learned what he had done...

"You sucked the venom out!" Bella said, her voice louder than she wanted it to be, in surprise.

Edward shifted at that, afraid of what she might be thinking now. "Yes," he answered simply.

She looked up at him, an incredulous and admiring look on her face. "I didn't think that would be possible. How did you stop...?"

"I have no idea," Edward said, again wishing he could know what she was thinking, it might have helped him right now. "I suppose I love you more than your blood tempts me."

Bella felt her breath catch, it was the first time he had told her he loved her, and though she wasn't sure if he was speaking for his book self or himself, she had a feeling it was for both.

Edward furrowed his eyebrows, wondering if it might also have to do with the fact that he wasn't planning on living long if she had died. He had already been thinking about going to the Volturi at that point. His instincts might have already started adapting, knowing that her safety was just as much or more important than his own.

"Edward," Bella said quickly and broke through his reverie.

"Yes?"

"You saved me this time, but..." Bella said, biting her lip, not sure if now was the time to ask this, but at least she knew she was okay and more importantly that no one else was hurt. "Am I ever going to be a vampire?"

"Do you want to be a vampire?" Edward questioned his body tensing. His hopes for the future now included her as a vampire, but he would never force her to be one. Nor was he completely cured of his long time fear about vampires not having souls. He was conflicted about that issue now, enough so that he would allow her to turn if she wanted to because he believed the future he saw was the closest to heaven either of them could ask for.

"I think I do," Bella said softly, her voice apologetic. She knew how much he would have hated hearing that in the book, and she was surprised when he didn't stiffen.

"Think?" Edward asked, that wasn't enough for him, but he wouldn't push her one way or the other.

"It's only been a few days that I realized that vampires exist," Bella said exasperated, "and I've been worrying more about what I was going to do when I met you and now about what was going to happen next when I read this book. Even with that I have been thinking about us, and it makes sense if I was turned."

"Makes sense…" Edward said that wasn't convincing him either.

"It's the only way we can be even," Bella said. "I know you're afraid of turning me, but... does it make a difference if I want to be turned?"

"Not to him," Edward said looking at the book.

Bella moved so she was looking in Edward's eyes this time. "What about you?"

"I've seen what it's like when you're turned," Edward said softly, his eyes longing, but sad, at the same time. "And it's not how I thought it would be... But, Bella, it will always be your choice what you do."

Bella smiled at him and nodded her head and moved to sit against him again, but he groaned. "What is it?" she asked.

"I think I have to move," Edward sighed. He was starting to feel his two most powerful longings take over him and now that she didn't need to be comforted (or he needed to be close to her), it was starting to take him over. She sat up, letting him move though she couldn't hide her disappointment that he was no longer holding her. He stood at the far side of the room, motioned for her to read, which she did, and he sighed. He was quite pleased that he was able to touch her, to actually hold her in his arms for so long, though he wished he didn't need to pull himself away from her now. He had to hold his breath and use it to its maximum proficiency when he talked, but as long as she needed him, he was able to be there and that was comforting. Not to mention it would be easier to touch her from now on... easier, but not quite easy enough. He'd still have a long, uphill battle before he was able to control his needs.

She finished the Angel chapter quickly and went on to the next, able to react properly to all the embarrassing things that happened in the chapter, like her heart monitor beeping and her talk with her mother about Edward. Her eyes widened when Edward talked about leaving her, that she would be safer if he wasn't near her and she looked up at Edward again. He was still struggling to control himself it seemed, his eyes were closed at least and if he were sitting he probably would have looked like he was sleeping. Still, she reassured herself that this Edward wouldn't leave her, well, not unless she asked him to go, but that wasn't likely to happen. She looked back at the book, and again she wasn't so sure if that Edward felt the same... after all the Edward in the room must have learned from the mistakes the book Edward made... that is if he even made any mistakes, which she seriously hoped he hadn't, but feared he did.

It didn't take her long to figure out what was going on in the last chapter and she didn't like it one bit.

"Absolutely not," Bella said as soon as she read the word _prom_ in the book, confirming her fears.

"What?" Edward said, opening his eyes and looking at her curiously. He took in her glare and the stiff set of her jaw, and knew that she was being stubborn about something, but he had lost track of things as he tried to calm himself down and he wasn't sure what she was thinking about.

"I'm not going to prom, Edward!" Bella huffed, her glare intensifying when his mouth thinned.

"Come now, Bella, be reasonable..." Edward started, but she shook her head.

"I don't want to go, Edward!" Bella said through gritted teeth.

"Because you can't dance, but that won't be a problem when you're with me," Edward smiled at her.

Bella blinked, he was using his most charming smile, knowing full well the effect it had on her... stupid book giving away all her secrets. She couldn't even be annoyed by that though, because all she felt was dazzled. "Edward... please," she said weakly, all she could force herself to say.

Edward sighed, and he frowned in a forlorn expression. "You know I've never really been to prom myself... I would have been too sick to attend if there was even a prom at my school when I was still human and well, I've never really found anyone I've wanted to go to prom with before now. I admit that I have gone once... but it is rather odd when you're not there with someone and you can only dance with your sisters."

Bella made a face; she'd been prepared for him to try and convince her, tell her it was something she would want to do, but this... how was she supposed to say no when he said something like this? "I'll think about it," she said, her tone showing her annoyance.

She started to read again, trying to fume but of course the book wasn't helping with that right now seeing as it was about the dreaded event. Okay, so she chuckled briefly at the horror film reference, and when it came to dancing with Edward... it actually didn't sound so bad. She supposed she could let him have his way in this, seeing as he clearly wanted to go with her.

Then Jacob came and gave her a warning from the werewolves. That made her feel uneasy. They were going to notice soon enough that she was with Edward, and she was close friends with Jake already... that was sure to be a tense situation. Still, she held her tongue about that issue, feeling like she just wanted to finish the book before she said anything else.

However, when Edward gave his reason for wanting to take her to prom she noticed it was very different. It was just the kind of response that she could have argued with vehemently, which she had done in the book (though it was too late for her then). She narrowed her eyes at Edward, suddenly wondering if he really wanted to go to prom or if he just wanted her to have the ' _human experience_ '.

"What is it?" Edward asked, looking amused at the look she gave him, his favorite tiger-kitten glare.

"Did you really mean what you said earlier about prom?" Bella questioned. "Or were you just saying that so you would get me to say yes to you."

Edward sighed, looking into her eyes and knew that he had to be honest. "A little of both, I really don't want you to miss anything about being human, Bella. I know that this isn't something you would have done if I wasn't here, but that doesn't mean you can't go now. And yes, I do want to go to prom with you... I think it would be nice... and you did say it wasn't so bad."

Bella frowned again, she was still undecided about that, but she had time to think about that later. She started reading again, the book ending with the stalemate between them about whether or not she should be turned.

"Well that certainly was interesting," she said putting the book down. It was almost twelve o'clock, much later than the other nights, but these chapters really seemed to have been emotionally draining. "I hope the next book won't be as exciting..."

"I don't know about exciting," Edward said. "But it's definitely emotional."

"Is it really that bad?" Bella bit her lip, she could hear in Edward's tone that something must have happened. She shivered when he wouldn't look in her eyes, obviously he was feeling guilty about something, and she could only think of one thing that would be.

"I have to warn you, I can't let you think for one second that this could really happen, not now," Edward said, talking to the floor, his voice thick with self loathing. "I'm going to leave..."

Bella's heart quickened as he said that, pushing her to panic... she didn't want to think about him leaving, even if it was just in a book. Still, she tried to control her voice, bring her heart back to a normal pace. "I thought you would say that," Bella said, glad to hear that her voice was even at least.

"You did?" Edward looked at her this time, his eyes both sadder than she'd ever seen them and hopeful.

"You were constantly thinking about leaving in _Midnight Sun_ ," Bella explained and Edward nodded his head. "And in the later chapters of this book..." she had to take a breath, trying not to think about the sadist vampire that caused Edward to believe that she shouldn't be near him, "it looked like you had more reasons to believe that you needed to go..."

"I wanted you to be safe," Edward said softly. "I know my presence only puts you in danger."

"It's too late for that now," Bella said, and then flinched, she had said that to him once in the book and he didn't like that then. This Edward smiled at her though, it didn't quite get rid of the sadness there but at least it looked like a genuine smile.

"I know," Edward said. "If you were ever going to have peace without me, I would never have met you in the first place."

"That's what I thought," Bella said. "I think that's what kept me calm while I was reading about you wanting to leave... I kept reminding myself that at least _you_ would never leave me."

"Well, I'm glad you thought that," Edward smiled at her, he seemed to be relieved and she figured he must have been worried about what her reaction to him leaving her was going to be like.

"So, is the next book about... um... how I dealt with you being gone?" Bella questioned, jumping to the logically conclusion.

Edward nodded his head, his relief was gone now and he was grimacing again.

"Hm..." Bella said thoughtfully, thinking about all the warning signs she had seen in the book and everything she had found out about the Quileutes. "I'm going to get involved with the werewolves somehow, aren't I?"

Edward gave her a grin, it was the one she saw whenever she surprised him. "Yes, of course you do."

"I don't know if I want to read that right now," Bella said pensively and Edward looked at her a little shocked. She smiled at him, she definitely liked shocking him. "I have two reasons for this really. First, it seems like it's going to be really hard to read and I don't know if I want to read about you being gone before I even get to know you..."

"Don't you think it would make it easier that way?" Edward asked. "You wouldn't be able to empathize with yourself as much... it might not hurt..."

"I don't think that could be helped one way or other," Bella shrugged. "I think I want to know you for you, before we go into the problems that are no longer going to happen."

Edward raised an eyebrow there. "Are you planning on reading the books at all?"

"Yes, I do want to know everything that happened eventually, but is it so wrong to get to know you first?" Bella said.

"I suppose not," Edward said. " _New Moon_ doesn't start until September... and other events don't happen until a long time after that... I guess we have plenty of time to get to know each other before you have to read the books."

"Argh," Bella grumbled, "you're making me curious about the future."

Edward just shook his head, amused. "You're the one that's deciding not to read... it's your own fault that you don't know about the future."

"I know," Bella rolled her eyes. "But that doesn't mean I can't be annoyed."

"You said you had two reasons," Edward added.

"Oh, yeah," Bella blushed a little at this and Edward looked at her intrigued. "I liked it when you held me... It made me feel safe... like everything would be okay..."

"I'm glad I could help," Edward beamed; he definitely liked it, too.

"But it was hard for you, right?" Bella pointed out.

"Hm..." Edward said thoughtfully. "Not at first. All I could think about was you and trying to help you... but yes, it's still hard for me to be so close to you..."

"I thought so," Bella nodded her head this time. "I think... um... that if I have to read about you being gone... I would want you to be there... holding me."

"Yes, I think I would prefer it that way, too," Edward agreed.

"So, we'll wait to read _New Moon_ ," Bella said. "Wait until we're closer."

"Okay," Edward agreed. "So, what are your plans for tomorrow?"

"Well, I'm of two minds really," Bella said. "I want to see your family again... and I want to talk with Jacob..." Edward was smiling at first, but it fell when she mentioned Jacob. This didn't go unnoticed by Bella at all. "What's the matter?"

"It's nothing that I can't deal with," Edward said, and then he went on more thoughtfully. "Actually if you are going to see the boy," Bella made a face at his use of 'boy' and Edward rolled his eyes, "Jacob then, there is something you should warn him about."

"What?" Bella asked in concern, for Edward was frowning.

"It's Harry Clearwater," Edward said. "In the second book... he dies of a heart attack..."

"No," Bella gasped, and then bit her lip. She didn't really know this Harry guy, but she had heard Charlie mention him once or twice in the week since she had been here and she had a feeling they were close.

"We're hoping that with this warning that maybe that won't have to happen," Edward frowned. "A heart attack is something that can be prevented after all, and the sooner he knows about it the better it will be for Harry."

"Of course, I'll tell Jake," Bella frowned. "Though I don't know how he can help without showing them the books..."

"I'm sure you'll think of a way," Edward said. "And if worse comes to worse you could show them the books... It's more important to save him."

"You're right, of course," Bella nodded her head.

"I think you should get to bed, Bella, it's getting rather late," Edward said; it was now after one. "We're sure to have another eventful day tomorrow... um... actually later today, if you decide to come over to my house."

"Huh?" Bella asked, questioningly.

"Alice has been going crazy, waiting for you to finish reading the books," Edward chuckled. "I don't think you'll get out of the big production this time."

"Why did you tell me that?" Bella groaned. "Now I'm going to have nightmares."

"I'm sure you'll survive," Edward chuckled, "and I just wanted to warn you. Everyone wants to see you again... especially Esme..."

"Okay, okay, I'll come over," Bella sighed, "now if you excuse me, I need a human moment."

Edward smiled at her use of the term that was in the book, and then he said goodnight to her.

 **A/N: I hope no one's disappointed about my decision to have Bella hold off reading the rest of the books for a while, I just felt that it would be better for her not to know too much about the future when she's first meeting Edward. Especially seeing as she had some fears about things like marriage and children. I think that will all go over better if she was deeply in love with him.**

 **I would like to note that I will be doing chapters in the future about Bella reading the rest of the books and I wouldn't mind you telling me about points in those books that you think should be discussed. I worked with my memories of Twilight here, not actually re-reading everything and I don't know if I missed any of the key parts, but this was the best I could do. I'm also not sure if I'm going to write them the same way I did with this chapter. I might just have the discussion between Edward and Bella, instead of going through the summaries like I did in these last two chapters. Let me know what you think, and I hope you liked this chapter.**


	10. A Dog's Day

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Ten

A Dog's Day

Bella woke up the next morning a little later than she normal would have. That was understandable since she had stayed up later than normal too, and she'd had a rather emotionally draining night. She turned over and found an unexpected pair of eyes on her. Her heart started beating faster in shock and anticipation and she said breathlessly, "Edward, you're here. Did you stay the night?"

"Not quite," Edward smiled, "I've only been here the last few hours, since Charlie left to go fishing."

"Oh," Bella said, "well, I'm glad you came either way."

"So am I," Edward smiled, "it's a lot easier to hear you speaking in your sleep when I'm in your room."

Bella blushed at that, but was going to otherwise ignore his comment. However, something had caught her attention and she looked at him thoughtfully, trying to work it out.

"What are you thinking?" Edward asked with a sigh, annoyed again by her quiet mind.

Bella smiled at his expression. "I was just wondering how you could hear me talking in my sleep if you're not here."

"Oh," Edward said smiling again, though this time his eyes were a little guarded, as if he was worried about how she would react to whatever it was that he was about to say. "Actually, Bella, if you want to know the truth, I've been staying in a tree just a little way from here since Monday morning. I wanted to be close to you and… well I've found your heartbeat to be an intoxicating sound."

"Oh," Bella said, a little taken aback by that. Though, now that she thought about it, it made perfect sense … or at least it fit with everything that she had seen Edward do in the books.

"You're not mad are you?" Edward asked, unable to read her expressions.

"No," Bella said to him.

"Good," Edward beamed, and then brought up a totally different topic. "I was wondering what you were planning on doing today."

"Well, I really think that I should see Jacob … and tell him what happened in _Twilight_ ," Bella said and Edward nodded his head. "And after that I'm sure we'll still have time to go to your house. Hm … I …" she paused, she wasn't sure if what she was thinking was a plausible idea or not.

"What is it?" Edward said.

"I was wondering if … well if it would be okay … um … if Jacob comes with us … I mean to your house?" Bella asked hesitantly.

"Hm …" Edward said thoughtfully. "I know Rose wouldn't like that, but I'm pretty sure the rest of my family wouldn't mind."

"Do you mind?" Bella asked. She could hear the slight annoyance in his tone and she didn't like it.

"I … no, I don't mind," Edward said, trying to be truthful, but it was difficult at the moment. "He's your friend … I don't want to take you away from your other friends all the time … I have monopolized your time a lot lately."

"Something happens between me and Jake, doesn't it? Something that makes you worry about me spending time with him?" Bella asked suspiciously.

"Perhaps," Edward said, the only answer that he was going to give her.

"Oh … maybe I shouldn't …" Bella said frowning. She really didn't want to make Edward uncomfortable.

"No, I'm honestly okay with this, Bella," Edward said sincerely, he had read enough of Jacob's thoughts to know that he wasn't infatuated with Bella … at least not now and he was going to cling to that thought. And now that he thought about it, it would be better if Jacob did come so he could get a better look at what he was thinking. That way he would be sure that nothing like what happened in the book would happen. "And I think it's a good idea he comes over."

Bella tried to see a contradiction to his words in Edward's eyes, but she couldn't see any. "Then I suppose I should get ready … apparently I have a lot of things to do today."

Bella went to the bathroom and prepared for the day before she went downstairs to eat her breakfast, smiling when she found Edward down there waiting for her.

"I was just thinking that I wouldn't know when you were done talking to your friend, perhaps you should take this phone with you," Edward said holding out a cell phone. "You can call me when you're ready to come over."

"Okay," Bella said, "and what are you going to do today?"

"I'm thinking about spending some time with Emmett," Edward shrugged. "I've hardly been home since you've come and my …"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to take you away from your family," Bella sighed.

"Don't worry about it," Edward chuckled as he rolled his eyes. "They understand completely."

Bella was still frowning, but didn't say anything else. They were just going to have to spend more time at the Cullens' house from now on. Soon after that Bella was saying goodbye to Edward, wishing that she could have just taken him with her, but of course that was out of the question. She had called Jacob just a few minutes before she left, making sure that he would be home. He was waiting for her when she pulled up to his house.

"Hey, Bella," Jacob said, smiling at her cheerfully. "I thought you'd forgotten all about me now that you have your vampire."

"Of course I didn't forget about you," Bella said.

"Well, you haven't called, you haven't write, you just abandoned me without a word," Jacob said trying to change his features into a pout, but he couldn't keep the amusement out of his eyes.

Bella rolled her own eyes. "It's only been four days, Jake."

"Still, it's good to see you," Jacob chuckled and led the way to his garage. "So, did you learn anything new … any exciting tales you wouldn't mind sharing with me?"

"As a matter of fact I did," Bella said as she sat down, making herself comfortable. "Edward showed me the book … that's why I didn't call you. I've been too busy reading that."

"Oh, so you're saying a book is more important than me?" Jacob sighed dramatically.

Bella rolled her eyes again, but didn't make a comment this time. "Do you want to hear what happened or not?"

Jacob blinked. "Yeah, I'd like to hear it."

So Bella explained the things that happened, starting from the point where _Midnight Sun_ had left off. She skimmed through the first few chapters, as she knew that Jacob really didn't want to hear about her talk with Edward, as long as he didn't hurt her in the meadow the fewer details he got the better. However, he was slightly curious when she told Jacob what she could remember of Carlisle's tale.

"… so he never hunted a human at all, not even at the beginning," Jacob said. "I wonder how he stopped himself from doing that … or how he had the will to stop."

"I wondered about that too," Bella said. "Maybe you can ask him about it."

"Yeah," Jacob said and then frowned, "but I'm not likely to run into him anytime soon, it's not like I could go to the hospital even, not without my dad getting on my case."

"Actually I asked Edward if you could come over and he said it would be okay," Bella said and then looked at his odd expression and added, "if that's okay with you."

Jacob looked thoughtful, "I'm not sure … don't you think it would be awkward if I was there?"

"Probably a little," Bella said, "but I thought you wanted to see the cars they had …"

"Oh, that's right," Jacob said, his expression changing completely. There was longing now in his eyes. "I suppose I could go down there … there are a few things that I'm curious about."

"I'm sure there are," Bella chuckled at his expression. "Do you want to hear the rest of the story or do you want to just go down there now?"

Jacob again looked thoughtful about this and then said, "You might as well finish."

So she went on with the story, but didn't get too far at all because as soon as she mentioned the vampires playing baseball his expression got even more excited and he tried to question Bella about it, but of course she couldn't really tell him much about that.

The excitement, however, turned quickly to horror when she told him about the nomads and how they had hunted her. Jacob made a lot of growling and hissing noises during this explanation, but he told her not to pay attention to him and just to keep telling him what had happened. After she was finished with the conflict, when he knew that she was safe, and that Edward had actually sucked the venom out of Bella's arm, saving her from become a vampire, he couldn't stop himself from talking.

"I can't believe it," were Jacob first words, overwhelmed by everything he had just heard. "And you're sure that you're not in danger … that these _bloodsuckers_ aren't going to hurt you." Jacob hissed the word bloodsuckers with such venom that Bella knew that he was talking about the nomads and not the family that had done everything they could to protect her.

"Edward assured me this wasn't going to happen," Bella said.

"And what does that mean?" Jacob hissed. "Were they killed or are they still out there hunting other innocent people?"

"I … um … I'm not sure," Bella said.

"If Edward hasn't ripped those leeches apart already, I'll happily give him a hand," Jacob said gritting his teeth.

"Jake, you can't do that," Bella said, "you're only human …"

"Well, I would gladly become a werewolf to get my paws on a piece of scum like this," Jacob said viciously. "The hunter, James, he's the worst kind of leech I can think of. He's not satisfied to just prey on humans, which is bad enough, but he actually enjoys torturing his victims … Argh …!"

"Jake calm down," Bella said soothingly. "This isn't going to happen. We can ask Edward what happened to these nomads when we talk to him. No reason to get worked up …"

Jacob took deep, calming breaths as his body started to relax. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to react like that … I just really hate that bloodsucker."

"I know," Bella shivered.

"I'm glad that the Cullens protected you … or at least tried to protect you," Jacob said and Bella could hear the disapproval in his voice about the fact that she had actually gone to the sadistic vampire willingly.

"You know I didn't have a choice …" Bella mumbled.

"Yeah, I do know," Jacob sighed, "I would do the same thing if Dad was in danger. So was there anything more to your story … how hurt were you?"

"A few broken bones and various other injuries, nothing too serious," Bella said and Jacob looked at her a little amused. She pushed on with her next thought, not giving him any time to tease her about her clumsiness. She skipped most of her talk at the hospital, knowing again that Jacob didn't really want to hear about her and Edward's growing relationship, besides, she knew that he would be mad at her for wanting to become a vampire and she wanted to avoid that conversation for the time being.

"… then you showed up," Bella said when she got to the last chapter. She would have skipped this altogether, but Billy's warning was something that Jacob needed to know about. This was going to be an issue in this reality, too, and it was going to be an even more vital one if Jacob was going to be near the Cullens as well.

"Why would I go to your prom?" Jacob asked, completely taken aback by that.

"Billy bribed you into going by giving you money and the part you needed for your Rabbit," Bella said. "He wanted to warn me that the Quileutes would be keeping an eye on my relationship with Edward."

"Argh!" Jacob groaned. "I'm sorry I did that. That's almost as bad as flirting with a guy just to get information out of him."

"Yeah, I would say it is," Bella smiled at his statement. "Does that mean you can't be mad at me for tricking you in this book?"

"Yeah, I think it does," Jacob chuckled.

"But this is serious, Jake," Bella said. "What are we going to about the Quileutes? They're bound to notice pretty quickly that I'm spending time with Edward and the others."

"Yeah, I know," Jacob sighed, "and I'm really not looking forward to when they find out, but I think we should worry about that when the time comes."

Bella frowned, she didn't like waiting because it wouldn't stop her from worrying, but she had to follow Jacob's lead in this. It was his family and his people that he was going against and he was going to be the one who'd be most affected by the situation.

"Well, that was all I read about so far," she said, clearly seeing that Jacob didn't want to talk about this subject anymore.

"What do you mean so far?" Jacob questioned.

"They're three more books to read, but I'm going to hold off on reading them for now," Bella explained.

"Oh… really? I don't think I could have waited to know more," Jacob said. "In fact, if you're not going to read them you could always give them to me …"

"No way, I don't want you reading them at all," Bella grumbled.

"Yeah, I figured as much, seeing as you didn't just give me the book," Jacob said. "What's the matter, you don't want to share your inner most thoughts with me?"

Bella made a face at that and Jacob chuckled.

"Don't worry, I can understand why," Jacob said.

"Edward did tell me something that's going to happen," Bella said, biting her lip.

"What is it?" Jacob asked; he was suddenly worried. It was easy for him to see that she was truly worried about something.

"It's Harry Clearwater," Bella said, and Jacob knew before she said anything that this was going to be bad, "he's going to have a heart attack … and die …"

Jacob face was blank and impossible to read, but his eyes showed his pain and shock. "Is there anything we can do … can we stop that from happening?"

"I'm not sure, but Edward thinks that if he knows … that there might be a chance we could save him," Bella said.

"Right," Jacob said, nodding his head, "we can save him … we will save him!"

Bella nodded her head, in complete agreement with him.

"But how are we going to do that?" Jacob said. "When is this going to happen?"

"Um … I don't know," Bella frowned. "I think we'll have to ask Edward about that, too."

"Well, come on let's go then," Jacob said, with sudden impatience to get to the Cullens'. He had known Harry his whole life and always thought of him like a second father. He remembered when his mom had died; both Harry and Sue had come over a lot, making sure that his family would be okay. He thought of Seth and Leah, and knew how they would feel if they lost their father and he didn't want that to happen. He was going to make sure this wasn't going to happen to them.

Bella didn't question his sudden haste to get out of here, she just took out a cell phone and called Edward, asking him to meet them at her house, and then they were in her truck. She didn't say anything to Jacob, just letting him think about everything that she had told him. Fifteen minutes later she was pulling up to her house. "Do you want to see Edward alone or go to the Cullens' house first?"

"It would probably be best if I just talk to Edward at first," Jacob said, "I'm not sure how comfortable I'll feel in a room full of vampires yet. I know they wouldn't hurt me, but my instincts kind of react badly when they're around …"

"Right," Bella sighed, "then let's get inside."

Edward was standing by the stairs waiting for them, he smiled at Bella as she walked in, caught by her presence as he always was, but he could hear what Jacob was thinking and the many worries on his mind. Edward waited for the boy to form the questions out loud.

"Tell me how long it will take …" Jacob trailed off, trying to think of how to form the words, but he needn't have bothered, Edward saw the rest of the questioned.

"About a year and a few months," Edward said.

"And, you think if he knows about this … that it will be enough to save him?" Jacob asked.

"Carlisle believes it would be," Edward said, "though of course it's not a sure thing … It could only help him to know about this."

"Right," Jacob said, "now all I have to do is figure out a way to tell him about it."

"I actually mentioned that to my family when I was at home," Edward said. "I think it's obvious that the wolves … um … sorry," he sighed seeing Jacob made a face at that. "That is just what we had called the Quileutes, we didn't mean any offense by it …"

"It's okay," Jacob assured him, "as long as you don't mind us calling you bloodsuckers."

"It all depends on your tone," Edward chuckled, "but as I was saying, we think that the Quileute elders are going to have to be informed about this at some point. We would like to strengthen our relationship with them if that is at all possible."

"And you think that telling Harry he's going to die is going to help your case?" Jacob snorted. "He probably won't believe you … They'll all think that you're trying to pull something … I'm sorry, but I can tell you right now that none of them trust you in the least … they wouldn't listen to this."

"I thought as much," Edward sighed again, "but we have two things that might help with this particular issue. First, you will be there, able to speak on our behalf."

"Argh," Jacob groaned, not because he disagreed with Edward, or wasn't willing to do that, he just wasn't looking forward to standing in front of his people, knowing they wouldn't like what he had to say one bit.

"I know, I'm sorry if we make things more difficult for you," Edward said, truly looking sorry for him.

"You don't have to apologize, you're not the one that convinced me you're not a monster," Jacob said.

"Very well," Edward went on. "The other thing that might help us was something that Esme thought of. She believes that if you went to Sue you would get the most optimal response …"

"Right, that should work," Jacob said looking relieved and more scared than he was a second ago. He thought of how hard it would be to actually tell Sue this, but at the same he could see her whipping Harry into shape, making sure that he would do whatever was necessary to prevent this.

"Again, I'm sorry you'll have to be the bearer of bad news," Edward said.

"And I thought the other part was going to be difficult," Jacob grumbled, but laughed at the same time.

"So do you have anything else on your mind, pup?" Edward asked.

"Pup?" Jacob said, making a disgusted face.

"That was something that we called you," Edward shrugged. "And you're just going to have to get used to it if you're ever planning on spending any time with us, because Emmett at least will be calling you that."

"Great," Jacob sighed.

"Trust me, we all have to get used to him making annoying names for us," Edward sighed.

"Well, that makes me feel so much better," Jacob said sarcastically. "And yeah, I was wondering what you did to those stupid bloodsucking monster nomads that hunted Bella!"

Edward looked at Jacob closely, seeing the anger clearly on his face and then he looked at Bella, who seemed to be a little nervous. Once again he would have loved to been able to read her mind because he wasn't sure how she would react to what he had done. A normal, rational person would be glad the killer vampires were taken care of and would never be able to attack them again, but Bella never reacted the way he thought she would. She also tended to be a bit more compassionate than he was, and he was afraid that she might have taken Carlisle's views on things.

"If they're still alive, I'm quite willing to help you take them out," Jacob said. "I can't really see you actually letting those scums get away with this after they threatened Bella, but if …"

"James and Victoria are dead," Edward said, still looking at Bella trying to gauge her reaction, hoping that she would be relieved. "Laurent, on the other hand, is in Denali."

"That was the leech that didn't go after Bella," Jacob said; Bella hadn't really talked about him much.

"Yes," Edward said, "we think that he might be Irina's mate … Bella, please tell me what you're thinking."

Bella caught Edward's worried glance for the first time. "I'm … relieved."

"That's all you're feeling?" Jacob snorted, but no one was paying him any attention at the moment.

"More than relieved," Bella added, and then she bit her lower lip. "Thank you."

"Please tell me that you made that scumbag beg for mercy," Jacob said, drawing Edward's attention.

"I don't think he begged at all, but I wasn't the one fighting James," Edward said; he still regretted that.

"What … seriously, after everything he did to Bella?" Jacob said looking beyond shocked.

"Jasper wanted him," Edward said coldly, "and since the crime that James committed against me was only fictional … for I knew that I was never going to let Bella get hurt like that … my brother had the better claim on that particular monster."

"I suppose that make sense," Jacob said. "So I'm guessing that Jasper would have wanted to hunt down this guy no matter what."

Edward nodded his head as Bella let out a sigh of relief. "What?" he asked.

"Oh… I'm just glad…" Bella said, "I don't know if I like the idea of you killing anyone because of me."

Edward shook his head. "How did I know you would think something like that?"

"Because you have a pretty good idea at how my mind works now," Bella said.

"That actually doesn't help as much as I was hoping it would," Edward admitted. "Bella, I wanted to go after the nomads, it was my idea to …"

"I know," Bella said, "but I'm still glad I'm not the only reason …"

"You're not disappointed in me?"

"Of course not, Edward," Bella said earnestly. "I really am glad they're gone. Jacob is right; they were far more dangerous than even normal vampires … um … right?"

"Yes, I would agree with that," Edward said. "They … well at least James … enjoyed the game too much."

" _Game_!" Jacob hissed at that comment bitterly and Edward looked at him curiously and a little sadly. He could see the anger building up in him and he wondered how much his werewolf gene could take before it caused him to change.

"Sorry … it's how he thought of it," Edward said with just as much scorn and hostility as Jacob had.

"So I'm glad that you made the streets just a little safer for humans," Bella smiled at Edward. "You could have told me about this last night …"

"Did you worry about them?" Edward asked, a touch of panic in his voice, he didn't want her to be afraid. "I was going to tell you, but you seemed to relax when I told you they couldn't hurt you. I didn't think it was necessary … I'm so sorry I made you worry …"

"You didn't make me worry," Bella said. "I believed you when you said I would be safe."

"Now that that's all settled, I think it's about time that we head to your home, Edward," Jacob said, suddenly feeling the excitement he had felt earlier that day now that he didn't need to worry about anything for the moment.

Edward suddenly chuckled as Jacob thought about going into the Cullens' garage and seeing all the cars they had in there. "You know Rose will probably try to stop you from doing that … she wasn't pleased when I told her that you might be coming today."

"Cool," Jacob smirked. "That is as long as she doesn't actually stop me from seeing the cars."

Edward watched Bella roll her eyes. She had been confused with his earlier statement, hating the fact that he had just answered someone's thoughts. "Well, we're just going to have to find out," he said as they all left the house. Edward got in the driver's seat, as Bella wasn't sure she remembered how to get to the house on her own yet.

"So, are you nervous at all about heading to a house full of vampires?" Edward questioned Jacob.

"Um … yeah," Jacob said as he thought _there's no point in lying to him, he can hear what I'm thinking now. I sure hope the others don't make me feel uncomfortable. Edward doesn't… and Alice didn't either, but I don't know about the others … especially Blondie … I don't know if I can stand being near her …_

"I don't think Rose will want to be near you either," Edward assured him. "I'll make sure she doesn't get too close."

"I would say you don't have to do that, but it's probably a good thing," Jacob said. "I don't know if I can take a vampire being hostile to me right now."

Edward nodded his head. "How about you, Bella, are you nervous?"

"I'm nervous about the big production you promised for my arrival," Bella grimaced.

"I did promise that, didn't I?" Edward chuckled at the face she was making and Jacob joined him.

"I think I like the sound of this," Jacob said as Bella was glaring at both of them now.

Edward smiled as he pulled into his front yard, his eyes at the house and a small smile on his lips. "I don't think Alice will disappoint you."

"I didn't expect her to," Bella sighed as she let Edward help her out of the truck. He held her hand, and he didn't let it go as they walked towards the house. She could definitely get used to this. And she could handle whatever Alice was going to throw at her as long as Edward was there with her.

Bella sighed as they walked in the house, it looked vastly different than it had the last time she was there, with flowers of all sorts organized in a very eye pleasing manner. She then noticed a table filled with all sorts of food that she was sure was probably better than anything she'd ever eaten before. She was sure that even if she ate all three of her meals here for the week she wouldn't be able to even eat half of it. However, she heard Jacob smack his lips and she felt a little bit better about this.

"Yeah, Bella's here," Alice said from the top of the stairs and the next instant she was next to them and giving Bella a hug. "And she's brought her dog," she added while smiling pleasantly at Jacob, who was pouting.

"Alice, don't be rude," Esme reprimanded and then turned to Jacob. "It's a pleasure to meet you Jacob, and please help yourself to anything you want."

Jacob beamed at that as his eyes drifted to the food in the corner, the smell wafting from it was very appealing (at least it was to Jacob and Bella; the vampires found it was a little repulsive). Before he made a move though, he said, "Thanks, it's a pleasure to meet you too."

"Bella!" Emmett exclaimed as he came in the house and before she could turn to where the noise had come from she found herself being hugged by another very excited vampire. When Emmett put her down, chuckling at Edward's slightly protective but mostly annoyed growl, he said, "finally you've decided to grace us with your time … your Eddy boy isn't the only one that likes you in this family."

"I'm sorry," Bella said.

"Don't be a jerk, Em, you can't just manipulate her like that," Alice said.

"I can't believe that you're the one that said that, Shorty," Emmett shook his head. "And I'm not manipulating anyone; I'm merely stating a fact."

"Ofh," a noise came for the corner with the food in it and Bella looked up just in time to see Jacob swallow a huge bite of food that didn't seem possible and she feared he would choke. However, Jacob didn't seem to have been bothered at all as he walked over to the patriarch of the family. "Dr. Cullen…"

"Please, call me Carlisle," Carlisle said smiling.

"Okay," Jacob said, "I actually have a few things I was wondering about …"

"What a coincidence, I have a few things that I would like to ask you about," Carlisle said, his eyes alight with his normal thirst for knowledge.

"And when he says a few, Jake, he means about a million questions," Edward said and Carlisle smiled sheepishly.

"I don't mind," Jacob shrugged. "Oh, by the way, this is the best food I've ever tasted!"

"Thank you," Esme beamed. "I wasn't sure if I made it right or not seeing as I couldn't taste it myself."

"You made this … wow, that's amazing!"

The next few hours went as Jacob and Carlisle talked about things in the corner closest to the food. At first Bella listened to the conversation, for Jacob had asked Carlisle for his reasons for not wanting to hurt any human even when he was a newborn as it was his nature to do so. Bella found it impossible to turn away from the story as she listened to Carlisle explain the struggles he went through himself so that he wouldn't become a monster. However, after that conversation, Carlisle started asking Jacob questions and Emmett and Alice started to draw her attention. There was an air of impatience in both of their demeanors. Bella found it quite easy to talk with them though. It felt natural being here. She felt more comfortable here than she ever had anywhere else in her life.

After awhile though, she started to wonder why Jasper wasn't here. She knew that it wasn't feasible to have Rosalie here when Jacob was there, at least not right away. She thought that Edward must have warned her against coming, or that perhaps Rosalie had opted not to come. Bella was pretty sure Rosalie didn't like Jake any more than Jake liked her. However, she couldn't understand why Jasper was keeping his distance, too. Was Edward thirsty at the moment and that was why he wasn't here? Was Jasper wary of having Jacob being around them?

"Alice?" Bella whispered, knowing it was useless but she did it out of habit anyway. They were walking to the garage with Edward, Emmett and Jacob.

"Yes," Alice answered back in a whisper, too.

"Where's Jasper?" Bella asked.

"Oh," Alice sighed, "he's wallowing a bit … I told him that he didn't need to …"

"Why, what happened?" Bella asked, obviously worrying about him.

Alice smiled smugly before she rolled her eyes. "He didn't like hearing how he had reacted to you in the book … Of course he had realized it would be bad, he still didn't like knowing that he thought that way."

"I'm sorry," Bella sighed.

"Don't be, it's not your fault," Alice shrugged. "I'll make sure he doesn't hide out next time."

"Wow!" Jacob's sudden exclamation ended Bella and Alice's conversation.

Bella allowed Jacob to drool over the cars for almost an hour, going back to the house with Edward and Alice after ten minutes. However, she had to force Jacob to come with her at four o'clock, saying that she needed to get him home before making dinner for Charlie. She said goodbye to all the Cullens and promised that she would be back soon … most likely the next day.

 **A/N: Well, I just wanted to say that I had no idea what to write in this chapter so I hope that it came across okay. I'm thinking that the next chapter is going to go over Charlie's reaction to Bella being close to the Cullens and Bella telling him about her relationship with Edward. There will probably also be a bit about the werewolves and some reaction dealing with that. The next chapter after that, I'm going to go into how Edward works on his control.**

 **Oh yeah, I just wanted to add a note about how I'm going do the Bella reading the other book, I was just going to say that no matter how long they were I would make it either one chapter or I would split it in two chapter but I would update the chapter early. What this means is that no matter what I'm only going to take three weeks to do that part.**


	11. Charlie's Little Girl is Growing Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Eleven

Charlie's Little Girl is Growing Up

"So that was fun, wasn't it?" Bella asked, looking at Jacob while he grinned back at her as Edward drove her truck back towards town.

"That was incredible," Jacob chuckled. "I never would have guessed it would be so much fun to hang out with so many bloodsuckers."

"Well, Em always had an affinity for dogs," Edward chuckled. "He's been begging Esme to let us have one for awhile now."

"Is that true?" Jacob questioned, chuckling too.

"Sort of," Edward sighed. "I'm sure Em would love to have a dog, but animals tend to stay as far away from us as possible. Their survival instinct is too strong."

"That's too bad," Jacob sniggered before his eyes got a gleam in them and he asked, "So, I was wondering if you could let me drive your Austin Martin …?"

"Hm … I'm not so sure about that," Edward pressed his lips together. "I don't really let anyone touch my car …"

"Yeah, I figured as much," Jacob sighed. "I just thought I would ask … no harm, right?"

"I guess not," Edward laughed, "well, this is about as far as I can go … I'll see you later, Bella."

Edward then pulled over and got out of the truck, his frown was barely noticeable but Bella sighed. She knew that he didn't really want to be away from her anymore then she wanted to be away from him, though at least she knew that she would see him again before the night ended.

"So, what do you have planned for tomorrow?" Jacob asked as Bella started driving. "Hanging with the vamps again I would think."

"Probably," Bella said, "do you want to come?"

"Hm … yeah maybe," Jacob said, but he was frowning. "Then again I have things that I have to do, don't I? I'm not sure how long I can wait before I tell the others what I've learned about the Cullens … it wouldn't be good if they found out before I tell them."

"I wouldn't think so," Bella frowned. "Do you want me to be there …?"

"No," Jacob shook his head. "I think that would just make everything more awkward."

"Okay, but if you do need help, I'll be here," Bella said.

"Sure, sure," Jacob said. "How about you call me tomorrow … I'm sure I'm going to chicken out, but maybe I'll find the nerve to tell my dad about this."

"Okay, Jake," Bella smiled as she pulled up to his driveway.

"See you later, Bells," Jacob smiled, too, and then walked to his house. She watched him until he got into the house and then headed home, turning on the radio for the short drive. Though she wished that she would have more time with Edward before her dad got home, she barely had time to open the door before she saw him pulling up.

Charlie seemed to be in a good mood when he got inside; obviously he had caught a lot of fish today. After some small talk, Bella busied herself with making dinner as Charlie turned on the TV and immersed himself in some game. She was quite happy with the quiet routine they had fallen into this past week, however, before she was even able to finish dinner Charlie had to go and ruin it.

"So, I've been hearing interesting rumors lately," Charlie said, obviously trying to sound causal, but the look he was giving her made her uncomfortable.

"Oh?" was Bella's response, for she didn't know what else to say; perhaps this doesn't have anything to do with her and, more importantly, Edward.

Charlie shifted in his chair looking uncomfortable now; okay, so that just confirmed her worries. "Well, um … I heard … that is to say … um …" he said trying to find the right words, getting more uncomfortable the longer he spoke until finally he just blurted out, "I've heard you've been spending a lot of time with one of the Cullens."

"Oh," Bella repeated her articulate response and then added reluctantly, "yeah, I have been."

"Oh," Charlie responded in much the same tone his daughter had just used. "That's nice."

"Is there a problem with that?" Bella asked, trying to make her face appear innocent, but she was sure she didn't manage it. Lucky for her Charlie wasn't really paying attention to her expression.

"No … no, I have no problems with that," Charlie said, though Bella wasn't sure if that was entirely true, he seemed to be bothered by something. "I have nothing but respect for Dr. Cullen and his family. They've never caused an ounce of trouble, not to mention all the good that Dr. Cullen has done since he got here. It's nice to hear that you're being so nice to them, I never really understood why they've always been so isolated."

Bella could tell that despite the way that Charlie had worded his response, that it wasn't her kindness that he was surprised about, but Edward's attention to her. Though Charlie wasn't giving her skeptical looks like so many of her classmates (mostly the female population) had been giving her, he was just looking mildly puzzled along with touch of discomfort.

"I didn't really do anything, they're the ones that welcomed me here," Bella shrugged, again failing at acting causal. This time Charlie seemed to notice.

"I thought you didn't like getting too much attention," Charlie stated.

 _Well, that depends on who's attention I've got_ , Bella thought to herself before she answered, "that's why it's so nice to talk to them, they treat me like they've already known be for years." _Well it's not a lie;_ _though it hadn't been_ _actually years,_ _they still know about the future_ , again Bella thought and with that she was able to prevent herself from blushing.

Charlie smiled a genuine smile that made him look younger. "Well, I'm glad that they are such good friends."

"So am I," Bella smiled back, almost being able to relax again but Charlie didn't seem to be done yet.

"I am surprised that you said ' _them_ ' though, from what I heard you were only with one of them," Charlie said, making it clear by his red ears that he had heard which Cullen she was talking to.

"I … um … who told you all this anyway?" Bella asked, flustered, not able to completely hold off her blush. Why did she have to live in such a small town?

"Well … I heard some rumors yesterday," Charlie admitted looking sheepishly. "Mark sort of mentioned it … his wife …"

"Argh, never mind," Bella grumbled, not really wanting to know the extent the gossip mill worked.

"But I didn't really think about it much until today," Charlie went on looking a little guarded. "You know I was fishing today with Harry … and he kind of mentioned it to me, too."

Bella was a little surprised by this, and more than a little worried. "Is there something wrong with that?" she asked, trying to make it look like she didn't know as much as she did about this.

"Hm … the Quileutes … um … don't really like the Cullens very much," Charlie said frowning, "I don't really like it … in fact I think they're being ridiculous about the whole thing."

Bella didn't know what to say so she just stared at Charlie until he caught his breath. However, after Charlie calmed down he seemed to be at a lost to what to say now.

"Well anyway," Charlie went on with the conversation awkwardly, "the rumor is that you are spending all your time with … um … Edwin."

Bella sighed, wondering if Charlie really didn't now Edward's name or if he was just trying to get to her. It was suspicious that he chose the same name as he did in the book. "His name is Edward."

"Right, Edward," Charlie nodded his head, not looking very pleased by her answer. "So it's true …"

"Yes," Bella answered simply.

"Are you … um … is he your boyfriend?" Charlie asked, his face was red and he was looking at the table.

Hm … was this why Charlie has been so uncomfortable? "I've only known him a week, Dad," she answered, unable to keep her face serene because an even brighter shade of red covered her face than her dad's. She really wished she didn't have to have this talk, especially not this early.

"Okay," Charlie nodded his head; he clearly was dying for this conversation to be over just as much as Bella was. He stood up and continued, "Well, if things get … um … I would like to meet him," he seemed to have missed a few words in his haste to get up.

"Okay," was all Bella could say to that before her dad retreated to the living room and she went to the sink with the dishes. Well this definitely wasn't what she thought was going to happen when she got home today, and she wasn't very pleased about it at all. Worse, she knew that Edward was likely in her room or in the tree near the house and he had listened to everything that was said. He was probably all for her introducing him to her dad tomorrow.

Still, Bella did the dishes as quickly as she could, not wanting Charlie to come back and bring up another uncomfortable topic. She made her way upstairs and like she thought, Edward was there with a grin that clearly stated that he heard everything … and more.

"Well, that was certainly an interesting dinner," Edward commented. "Though I was a little disappointed when you didn't say I was your boyfriend," he added with an over-exaggerated sigh.

"You're something indefinable to me … and boyfriend doesn't seem like enough," Bella said. "Besides, you know I only said what I did because I didn't want to freak Charlie out."

"I think it's a little too late for that," Edward said and then added quickly because Bella was grimacing, "but he's happy that you seem to really like it here. He was worried you would be miserable."

"Well … hey, I thought you couldn't hear his thoughts that clearly," Bella said.

"It gets easier all the time," Edward said, "especially when he feels strongly about something."

"And what is he feeling strongly about now?" Bella questioned warily.

"Nothing that you need to be worrying about," Edward chuckled.

Bella pressed her lips together, not liking the answer but she knew he wasn't going to say anymore. "What was he thinking about when he was talking about Harry … did he say anything to Charlie?"

"Hm …" Edward said, "Charlie's thoughts just seemed to show that Harry was just concerned about you … I don't think he pushed the subject, but at the same time he was able to get his point across."

"Is this something we have to worry about?" Bella asked.

"Not right now we don't," Edward said.

"Okay," Bella smiled. He was right; they would have plenty of time in the future to worry about the Quileutes. Right now she had Edward alone in her room and there was no book she had to read. "So, what would you rather do?"

Edward smiled at her. "I can think of a few things."

Bella felt her heart rate speed up as he smiled at her. She walked towards him and was pleased when he didn't move away from her. He had slowly been getting closer to her all week, especially yesterday, and she was feeling optimistic about everything.

O

The next morning Bella woke up with the same feeling of optimism as she had the night before. Though Edward still wasn't able to hold her as she longed for him to do, as he had the night before when she physically needed him to, he sat close to her. So close that she could smell his pleasant scent; she could easily get lost in his golden eyes; she could reach out and touch him. It was rather hard for her not to do the last one, but she was very conscious that he had to make the first move.

Even better than all that though, was she knew that he had spent the whole night in her room, he told her he wasn't going to leave and when she opened her eyes he was there. The smile came automatically to her face as soon as she saw him, and it was just as automatic for him to return the smile.

"You seemed to have slept peacefully last night," Edward informed her. "Though, unfortunately, you didn't say much in your sleep."

"I'm sorry, I'll try to be more restless tonight," Bella chuckled. "And it's not really surprising that I slept peacefully … everything just seemed to work out perfectly yesterday. Even the talk with Charlie wasn't so bad."

"Yes, yesterday was a good day," Edward agreed. "Now what are we going to do today to top it?"

Bella shrugged, she was sure that just being with him would make this day better, everyday just seemed to get better the closer they got together. Unfortunately she had to excuse herself and get ready for the day. When she got downstairs she was surprised to find that Edward had made eggs for her.

"How is it that vampires are such good cooks?" Bella questioned after she had taken a bite.

Edward shrugged, looking pleased with himself. "I'm not sure."

After breakfast Bella called Jacob, and was slightly surprised by the tone of Billy's voice when he answered the phone. He had sounded exasperated just saying hello, and when she asked for Jacob, his voice because positively cold.

"Hello," Jacob said warily.

"Is there something wrong with Billy?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah," Jacob said stiffly.

"You told him," Bella gasped in understanding.

"Sort of," Jacob sighed, and suddenly he was whispering, obviously he didn't want Billy to overhear him, "but not soon enough. He was really suspicious when I told him that I was with you all day … did you know there's a rumor going around that you're spending time with the Cullens? Almost all of the adults in La Push are talking about it …"

"Yeah, Charlie mentioned that at dinner last night," Bella said glumly. "What happened, Jake?"

"I think he was worried that … well that I was doing exactly what I was doing … talking to the Cullens," Jacob sighed. "I didn't think it was the best time to go into it then, when he was already upset and all, I mean I wasn't planning to tell him when he was already in full hate mood. However, Sam showed up sensing trouble about something, I think he might have caught Edward's scent near the town and was worried about that. Anyway, when he got close to me … um … well, he could smell them …"

"Oh no, what happened?" Bella gasped, feeling terrible, whatever it was, it was all her fault.

"I didn't know what to say then," Jacob said through gritted teeth, "they just thought I was being stupid and not paying attention to our traditions … Billy shouted at me, telling me never to go near the Cullens again, and that I had to keep you away from them, too, if I could. I never knew he could act like such a parent before this …"

"Did you tell him that you knew …?"

"Yes," Jacob groaned, "and things only got worse after that. Before I was just an ignorant kid, now I'm betraying my people to the bloodsuckers …"

"Jake …" Bella moaned.

"Look, Bella, I know you don't like hearing this, but there's nothing you can do about it now," Jacob said. "I knew this was going to happen … And I'm going to make sure they see what's up … but that's going to take awhile."

There was a long pause as Jacob took a deep breath, "I think it's best if you don't come down here for awhile. I think it would relieve some tension if the vampire issues aren't flaunted in their face."

"Jacob …" Bella groaned, "are you sure that's best … I want to help you."

"I know, and maybe you can help me soon," Jacob said, "but everything's too crazy right now."

"I'm so sorry, Jake, I shouldn't have made you come to the Cullens, if you weren't there …" Bella started.

"I wouldn't have seen those amazing cars and had Esme's delicious food," Jacob said almost cheerfully. "I told you this was going to happen at some point; at least I got to have a little fun before it did. Look, I've got to go now. Billy's giving me the evil eye."

"Bye, Jake," Bella sighed.

"Bye, Bells," Jacob said in the same tone.

"I'm sorry," Edward said as Bella put the phone down. He heard everything that Jacob had said.

"So am I," Bella said. "I really wish we could do something for Jake …"

"I think he's right," Edward said, "right now the best thing we can do is let him handle it until the situation settles down some."

Bella sat down at the table, noting dimly that she had been happy a few minutes ago. "Everything's not going to be perfect, is it?"

"What?" Edward questioned.

"Just because we know the future … that doesn't mean that everything is going to be perfect," Bella said. "Things are just going to come at us differently …"

"I suppose," Edward said, "it wouldn't be life if there weren't difficulties to face, it makes the happy times that much better … trust me on that one, I'm talking from experience," he stopped there to smile at her meaningfully.

"So you think everything is going to work out with Jake," Bella said, "and the Quileutes?"

"Yes, I think things will be tense for awhile, but in the end our relationship will be stronger because of this," Edward said. "Having a voice of understanding will go a long way towards helping them see us for what we really are. We have learned a lot about them through these books … I know you don't know what I'm talking about yet, but trust me, all of us have gained a great respect for the wolves."

Bella nodded her head, and tried not to think about what Jacob must be going through right now. That was made easier when she went to Edward's house; it was hard for her to be worried there. Especially when Alice dragged Jasper over to her, and after assuring him again that she really liked him, he seemed to relax, causing her to relax in return. However, she knew that when Edward left her side (making it easier for Jasper to be near her) that he was telling Carlisle of the situation in La Push.

 **A/N: I know this is late and short but I've been spending so much time watching the World Cup (and getting used** **to waking up a lot earlier than I'm used** **to) and watching the Laker/Celtics game (wow, that was a close game) that I didn't work on this as much as I wanted to. I'm not sure if I'm going to do a chapter about what's happening at La Push as the next chapter, or move on to Edward learning to control himself … I'm leaning more towards Edward and letting the** **wolf situation settle down for a while.**


	12. Accidents will happen, or not!

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Twelve

Accidents will happen, or not!

"Wow, Eddy, is actually home … and Bella isn't even here!" Emmett said to his brother early Monday morning.

"I couldn't go to school in the same thing I wore yesterday," Edward explained, but he was planning on running back to Bella's as soon as he was done changing.

"Why not? It's not like anyone saw you," Emmett shrugged.

"Because Edward would rather not be beheaded at the moment," Alice said. She would never allow her family to wear the same thing for that long. "So, Edward, are you going to bring Bella to our table today at lunch or are you going to hog her again?"

"I vote for our table," Emmett cheered. _Imagine_ _the look on everyone's_ _faces when that happens, I bet there's still enough shock left in the mortals to react._

Edward rolled his eyes. "I'll let her decide that."

Alice's eyes glazed over and then she smiled. "Goody."

Edward sighed. He loved that Bella liked spending time with his family, but he did want to spend more time alone with her. It looked like, however, that Bella was going to decide to sit with his family. _Hm … maybe I should tell her about Emmett's thoughts._

 _What the hell?_ Alice said and then shot Edward an icy glare, w _hat did you do to muddle_ _things up?_

Edward just chuckled at that. "I've got to get back, see you later."

He was still chuckling slightly when he got back to Bella's house and into her room. Luckily she hadn't woken up yet. He loved the look on her face when she first realized he was there; shock and then beyond pleased. He wondered if that would go away soon, seeing as he was planning on always being there in the morning.

He looked at the clock and realized that he still had a half hour before Bella was going to wake up. He sat in the rocking chair thinking about things. Bella had not slept well last night, despite the fact that she knew she couldn't do anything about the werewolf situation. She was still worried about it. She had tossed and turned all night, muttering things about not fighting and other peacemaking slogans, though Edward was rather pleased that she didn't say Jacob's name. His was the only name she said besides an occasional "Mom" or "Renee". He still wished that she wouldn't waste her energy worrying, he was sure that everything was going to work out with the wolves. However, he knew better than to expect her to not worry, it's just what she did.

Bella's slight shift in position caused his mind to focus on her. He noticed that the furrow between her eyebrows had vanished and he hoped that meant that she was having a better dream now. When he went back to his thoughts, he decided that he didn't want to carry on with thinking about the werewolves. There were plenty of other things to worry about and they weren't a pressing subject at the moment.

No, right now what he wanted to concentrate on was controlling himself enough so that he could be close to Bella … so he could hold her at night while she slept … so he could kiss her. Edward sighed. He wanted that so much, just to be able to reach out and grab her but he couldn't let himself think of it.

Over the last two days he has been allowing himself to have more contact with her, and as he had predicted, it was almost easy to do that after holding her on Friday night. However, he was surprised how much the small, simple, touches made him long for more. He was terrified by the idea that if he allowed himself to move too quickly that he would do something in a split second that would destroy everything.

So, he decided that he was going to have to test his control, push himself to the limits, but at the same time guarantee that she would be safe. He thought about what had happened in the book when they had first meet, taking things from both of the perspectives he now had, he had devised a plan. He knew that in that reality it had taken him around forty-four days to realize that he had feelings for her and that was before he even touched her (minus the touch in biology class and the van incident). Then it was another eleven days before he was able to actually kiss her.

Taking that into account, there had been about thirty-six days that he had sat next to Bella, not talking to her but clearly being affected by her scent. He had to think of a way to shorten that time. He knew that his book self hadn't hunted more than he normally would have nor did he do anything out of the ordinary to be able to sit there next to her, and he thought that was a good starting point.

That was why he hadn't hunted the last few days, letting his throat burn and the venom form in his mouth. He was pleased to see that so far that none of his restraint was tested, but his eyes were still a golden color and he knew that it was going to be next week that was going to test him. He understood the dangers in this plan of his. He was dealing with a Bella that he was around for twenty hours a day at least, where as in the book he only had to deal with her scent for an hour. Knowing this, he asked Alice to keep an eye out for him, and though she hadn't seen anything yet, he knew that she was monitoring the situation closely.

The other thing he was planning on doing for the time being was just to see how close he could get to her. He knew that he wasn't going to progress that far until he tested himself while he was thirsty, but it didn't mean that he couldn't do anything.

Edward was quite sure that he had it a lot easier than his book self did at the moment. He had learned so much from his experience reading the book and he was able to apply it to strengthen the first stage of his and Bella's relationship. However, he was a little afraid of the future. He wasn't sure if some of the ways that he had gained control was feasible in this reality, for he wasn't going to leave her and he was never going to think that she had died. Nor was he ever going to have to suck venom out of her, therefore knowing exactly how mouthwatering she was. He realized how powerful those events had to have been for him, how much that must have physically changed him.

Could he possibly have the control he'd need if that didn't happen? He couldn't be sure of that answer and that frightened him. It would be a long time before he had to worry about that but it would be smart if he tried to think of some kind of solutions now.

Bella's alarm went off and his full attention was on her again. He found it intriguing that it took her four beeps before she started to stir and another three before she attempted to hit the buzzer. She fiddled with the machine for another few beeps before it stopped. He loved that she was so confused when she first woke up, how she seemed to yawn and grumble … and then she would suddenly lighten up when she looked at him. As much as he loves the Bella that just wakes up, he loves the smiling, unrestricted Bella that he sees in the instant that she sees him. It makes his unmovable heart feel as if it could beat. It was the best feeling in the world … at least it was so far.

"Edward," she beamed at him and he realized that he has been smiling for the last thirty seconds without noticing it. "I think I could get used waking up with you here."

"I think I could get used to being here," Edward chuckled.

O

Bella had an extremely good morning before she went to school. It was true that she had nightmares filled with werewolves and shouting elders, all of who hated her. However, as soon as she saw Edward it was better, she was sure that it was going to work out. She would trust in what Jacob and Edward said about everything working out and now she was going to focus her time on Edward.

The day steady dropped as she got to her classes. Truthfully, this was the hardest part of the day, the four or so hours that she didn't get to see Edward. Of course it was spent in class and that made it bearable, at least this was something that she would have to do no matter what. It would have been better if she could have had all her classes with him, but you can't have everything in life.

It was during trig that she wondered what she could do about the human friends she was supposed to have made. Jessica was chatting at her, trying to get details on her relationship with Edward, getting more frustrated that Bella wasn't giving her anything. She figured that this was about as deep as she wanted her friendship to go with Jessica, after hearing Jessica's thoughts from the book, she didn't like the reason the other girl had for pursuing their relationship. Likewise, she thought that it wouldn't be the best idea to be friends with Mike. It would only upset Edward if she got close to him, and she had a feeling that what Mike was looking for wasn't something that she could give him. It was best for him if she just let him go.

However, she liked the idea of getting to know Angela better. That friendship seemed genuine, and Angela was the kind of person (a real person that wouldn't turn out to be a monster) that she could get along with. The trouble was, now that she was spending all her time with Edward, it was impossible to talk to the shy girl. To add to that she couldn't stand to be away from Edward and the only time she could talk to Angela was when he was there. Argh, she was going to have to do something about that.

While they were in the line to get food, Bella voiced her thoughts on this to Edward. He seemed to think that it was a good idea, but he wasn't sure how to make it work either. He suggested that talking to Alice would be a good way to start, his voice seemed sort of reluctant and she questioned him about it.

"Well, I promised Alice I would ask if you wanted to sit with our family today," Edward said. "I was going to try to sway you to make it so you would chose me, but I suppose it's better this way."

Bella shook her head, didn't he know saying things like that was only going to make her curious about how he was going to sway her.

Edward chuckled, "Emmett thought it would draw more stares from everyone if you sat at our table."

 _Ah, so he did know it would make me … oh crap, he was right; everyone was going to look at us more than ever._ "Argh, you didn't have to tell me that," she groaned.

"Your eyes seemed to suggest differently," Edward said. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay," Bella said as she looked at the table with the Cullens and then to the table that she had been sitting alone at with him, trying to make up her mind about where she was going to go. She sighed, this was going to happen at some point; she knew it must, but she didn't expect it to be so soon.

"You don't have …" Edward started to say.

"No … I can't let this stop me," Bella said. She hated attention and she would rather avoid it, but she didn't want to let her fear stop her. It didn't seem right to not be able to be friends with someone because of what everyone else thinks.

"Still, it wouldn't be so bad sitting with just me …" Edward said pouting slightly and she chuckled.

"I'm sure your siblings will let us have time to talk," Bella said. "It's not like being across the room made it any less easy for them to listen to what we have to say."

"Yeah, but now you can hear all the comments that they said about us that you couldn't before," Edward said. "If you want that."

Bella eyes widened and she flushed, "Edward stop …"

Edward chuckled. "Okay, we'll sit with my family … this should be fun."

"Yeah, Bella is here," Emmett cheered as soon as Bella was in range of hearing him. She could hear him just fine, but she knew that the people that were sitting closest to the Cullens' and Hales' table couldn't. "Now the fun can really start."

"Am I like a new toy to him?" Bella questioned Edward, a smile threatening to pull up her lips as Emmett looked at her in shock.

Jasper chuckled at this immediately, which caused the rest of those at the table to laugh.

"Well, you are something that has changed the dynamics of our family and Emmett always loves facing the unknown," Edward answered seriously, though he knew that she was just joking with her question. "But after myself, and Alice … and Esme … and Carlisle … and Jasper, he cares about you the most."

"Hey," Emmett scowled at Edward, _you know that's not true … I'm much higher up on the list than sixth!_

Edward just smirked at him as Bella sat down next to Alice and Edward sat down next to her. More laughing erupted from the table as Emmett continued to pout.

"I'm sorry, Em, I shouldn't have said that," Bella said guiltily.

"It's okay, little sister, it just means you're comfortable being part of the family now," Emmett smiled at her.

"Little sister?" Bella blushed; she definitely didn't expect him to call her that.

Emmett laughed, he liked that he had caught her off guard and even more so because she blushed. "Do you have a problem with me calling you that?"

"No…" Bella said, still blushing. Emmett really was like the brother that she always imagined having. "I don't have a problem with that," she hesitated before she added, "big brother."

Emmett smile lit up his whole face like she had never seen before. It probably had something to do with the fact that this time there wasn't a hint of teasing or laughter at her expense, he was just smiling.

The rest of lunch Bella tried to settle her nerves, and it was made a lot easier with Jasper easing the tension. She also was glad that Alice had the foresight to make sure she wasn't looking at the rest of the cafeteria because there really were a lot of looks from the rest of the students directed their way that she didn't notice (forcefully reminding herself not to look behind her).

Towards the end of the meal, Bella asked Alice about the Angela situation.

"Well, that is a little difficult," Alice frowned, she tried to search the future but she didn't really see anything that would help them.

"Ah, just talk to the child," Emmett said. "I'm sure that unlike most of your peers she doesn't really care that you've gravitated towards our table. Plus, as long as you're friendly towards Jessica I'm sure you can sit at that table on sunny days when we can't come to school."

"I didn't think of that," Bella frowned. Whenever it was sunny she would be alone at school. She supposed it wouldn't be too bad being alone for the few days it was sunny here, but it would be nicer if she could sit with someone. She also thought it would be very awkward to sit with that group of people after barely talking to any of them since last Monday.

"If you're this worried about that maybe you could make Edward go with you to sit with the others," Rosalie suggested smirking at the way Edward now looked disturbed by the idea.

"If I must," Edward sighed when he saw that Bella looked thoughtful, but it was going to be pure torture sitting with all those girls, having to hear all their thoughts. He didn't know if it would be worse if they thought about him or if they thought badly of Bella (for he was sure both were likely to happen). "But only as a last resort, please."

"I'll keep that in mind," Bella smiled at his martyred expression. "I suppose that Emmett had a point though … if I just talk to her … it should be enough."

"We'll here's your chance," Emmett said as the bell rang. "Go get her, tiger kitten!"

At this everyone snorted, trying to hold back their laughter as Bella glared at Emmett, who was smirking at her.

"I would prefer it if you didn't call her that," Edward said stiffly though he was obviously amused.

"You're right, that's _your_ pet name for her," Emmett said, laughing harder than before.

"Shut up!" Bella huffed, getting up from the table, her face bright red and walking stiffly towards the door. Her embarrassment only grew when she heard Edward confirm Emmett's statement. She turned her head slightly to scowl at them, but before she could look back she ran into someone. Oddly enough it was Angela; if it was Alice that had made those comments she would have been sure this was a setup. As it was, she thought she would make the best of the situation.

"I'm sorry, Angela," Bella said.

"It's okay, Bella," Angela said. "I'm kind of surprised you remember me."

Bella frowned at that statement and Angela blushed slightly, raising her hand in apology.

"I didn't … I just meant that we only meet the one time on your first day … I didn't …" Angela said, stumbling over her words as she hesitated to show she wasn't saying anything against Bella.

"You were the first person that was honestly nice to me," Bella shrugged and then smiled.

Angela smiled back. "You seem a little agitated."

"Emmett was teasing me," Bella sighed.

"Really?" Angela said, obviously shocked.

"I bet you didn't think he the teasing sort," Bella said, though it was hard to picture him as anything other than a loveable overgrown child, she knew that to others Emmett was intimidating.

Angela smiled sheepishly at her and nodded her head. Angela seemed to be deliberating about something as they walked to class. She bit her lip before saying, "I think it's nice that you and Edward are spending time together, I've never seen him that happy before."

Bella beamed, her face lightening up. "I don't think I've been this happy before either."

They reached the classroom doors then and Angela said, "Well, see you later, Bella."

"See you," Bella said, feeling that this was a good first step in building a friendship with Angela. Seconds later Edward walked into class, and all other thoughts left her as she watched him make his way to sit next to her.

"I would say that this class would be more boring than usual, seeing as we both know what is going to happen, but I like the idea that we will have more time to talk," Edward said.

Bella smiled at him, it was odd to think of what should have happened if it weren't for the books. She would have been caught up in the mystery that is Edward Cullen. Instead she was sitting here comfortable talking to him. "So what will we discuss today?"

O

Edward was very pleased how the day went. He was able to talk to Bella during most of the Biology class before Mr. Banner called the class to attention and went over the lab. He wished that everyday could have been a lab so he was able to talk to Bella more freely, but unfortunately, they were going to do more lectures.

After school Bella again decided it would be better if she went home so she could make dinner for Charlie herself, and of course Edward went with her. After Bella had prepared the dinner, they did their homework. Edward helped her in trig and she found that it was hard to actually concentrate on the math but she didn't tell him that. He disappeared into his tree before Charlie arrived and they ate dinner. Afterward Bella asked Charlie if she could go out, or more precisely, asked if she could go to the Cullens'. Charlie looked uncomfortable with this, but didn't object, although he made sure that she would be back by ten. So that was where they had spent the rest of their evening. Once again Edward spent the night at Bella's (he was pleased when she spoke his name and there were no mention of the werewolves this night).

However, as he looked out the window at the snow falling, he knew it was going to stop soon only to become black ice. He felt anxious, he knew that he wouldn't let anything happen to Bella, but knowing that danger should be coming her way today made him tense. One thing was for sure, he wasn't going to take Bella's safety for granted today. He wasn't letting her out of his sight.

Bella didn't put up any fight when he voiced this to her. She had his guarantee that Alice was going to try to prevent the accident, but even with that she expected Edward to be on edge and she wanted him to relax as much as he could.

As she walked out to the truck, Bella's eyes were on the tires, touched again by the care that Charlie had shown her. Another reason why she was glad Edward was going to protect her. She drove carefully towards school, well aware that even with the chains on her tires, the road was dangerous. The moment she stepped out of the truck Edward was there, his eyes were wary and he seemed to be letting all of his senses take over so he would be able to react to anything.

"Come on," Edward said in a tense voice, clearly thinking that getting out of the parking lot would be good. He had to restrain himself from dragging her, as every sound of a brake being applied would cause him to twitch. Edward let out a sigh of relief as they made their way to the building, confident that they have avoided that danger. "Well, that was fun."

Bella just rolled her eyes. "You're still listening to everything that's going on out there, aren't you?" she asked when she noticed that Edward was looking tense.

"Yes," Edward said. "Tyler has just parked his car. He's rather upset that Alice had cut him off, he's cursing her out actually. How ungrateful can he be?"

"He has no idea what would have happened," Bella reminded him.

"I know," Edward said. "I wonder if he'll become a worse driver now."

"I didn't think of that," Bella said looking pensive.

"Whatever, we can't do anything about it now," Edward shrugged indifferently. "So, what's your plan for the rest of the day?" he asked now truly looking relieved, in fact he was looking almost giddy.

"I don't know, but staying out of the hospital sounds like a good plan," Bella said.

Edward grimaced, not really liking that joke on this day of all days. "Bella!"

"Sorry," Bella sighed and Edward shrugged. Soon enough the bell rang and it was time to get to class.

O

"What are you doing here?" Edward asked when he opened Bella's front door and Alice was standing there beaming. He then looked at the yellow car that was parked in front of the house, "and why did you have to drive that car?"

"Come on, Edward, you know that I haven't had a chance to drive my Porsche since Emmett got it for me," Alice pouted.

Edward shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. Deciding to let the car issue go, he asked again, "Why are you here, Alice?"

"I thought it was about time that we introduce ourselves to Charlie," Alice said as she walked into the house and then smiled at Bella who was sitting at the table that had both her and Edward's homework on it. "Aren't you two adorable studying together?"

"Alice, we weren't planning on doing that yet," Edward said to his annoying sister, at least she was annoying when she did things like this. "And what makes you think that you're needed here for that?"

"Please," Alice rolled her eyes. "If you want to make a good impression on Charlie it will only help that I'll be here … he's going to love me, remember?"

"True," Edward allowed with a chuckle.

"Actually, I think this is a good idea," Bella said. "It would be a non threatening way to introduce you to Charlie and he might actually like you this time around."

Edward frowned at that. "I'm not your friend, Bella."

"You don't want to be my friend," Bella pouted, biting her lip.

"You know what I mean," Edward rolled his eyes at her overacting.

"I know you're not just my friend, Edward," Bella sighed this time. "And I think even Charlie realizes that, but there's nothing wrong with making it easier on him."

"All right, all right," Edward grumbled glaring at Alice, who was snickering; this had worked out just as she had seen before coming here.

"Don't worry, Edward, everything is going to work out perfectly," Alice said to him.

"I said all right already," Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm just surprised that Emmett didn't come, too."

"He wanted to," Alice chuckled, "but I was afraid that he might scare poor Charlie to death."

"Does this mean you're planning to stay for dinner?" Bella questioned. "If so, I'm going to have to make more food … I know you won't eat it but it has to look like you are."

"Hm … yes, we'll be staying of dinner," Alice said after a second.

"Okay," Bella said, going to get more fish from the cooler, thinking it was a good thing she was planning on cooking that or she might not of had enough meat for dinner.

When Charlie came through the door, his head was craned back towards the beautiful car that was at the front of his house. "Hey, Bella … ow," he said when he turned to see Bella and the two Cullens in the living room ' _watching_ ' TV.

"Hey, Dad," Bella said.

"Hey," Charlie said, still looking at Edward and Alice. "So, is that your car out front?"

"Yeah," Alice answered, _see there was a reason to bring that car, Edward, it got Charlie in a somewhat good mood._ Edward rolled his eyes but if this worked he didn't care that much that her car stood out.

"Well, it's very nice," Charlie smiled, clearly that was an understatement for him, but he was a man of few words. He then looked over to Edward, his gaze calculating.

"Edward Cullen, it's a pleasure to meet you chief Swan," Edward said once he had Charlie's attention, holding out a hand to him.

"You can call me Charlie," Charlie said, still looking at Edward calculating, though every once in a while he would look at Bella. _She does like him_ , Edward clearly heard Charlie think before his mind became sulky. Edward had trouble keeping the grin off his face, he wanted Charlie to like him, but he was elated that it was so obvious that Bella liked him.

"And I'm Alice," Alice said, she too shaking Charlie's hand. Charlie was definitely not immune to Alice's charm for it seemed that this simple introduction already had Charlie smiling. _And this is why you love me,_ _Edward_ , Alice thought as she worked to charm Charlie the rest of the night, even getting him and Edward talking about something, softening Charlie's heart to his daughter's boyfriend. It seemed with one nights work Alice had the relationship between Charlie and Edward on terms that were never present in the book, not even at the beginning before Bella had gotten hurt.

"Okay, I owe you big time," Edward said after saying ' _goodnight_ ' to Bella and her father and getting into Alice's Porsche. "I don't think that could have gone any better."

"Of course not," Alice beamed. "It was my plan after all."

 **A/N: Okay, so this chapter wasn't exactly what I thought it was going to be before I wrote it, but I thought it turned out okay. The next chapter I'm planning on having Edward and Bella's first official date. After that I'm going to spend at least one chapter with the werewolves (probably from Jacob's** **point of view) though it might end up as two depending on how much time I have to write the chapter. After that** **I'm planning on having an amusing chapter that might not progress the story very** **much but should be fun (and is one of the chapters I thought of after I committed** **to writing this story). And finally,** **the one after** **I'm planning on going back to the reading. I'm letting you all know this because a few people want me to get to** **Bella reading the other books, but there are several things that have to happen before I want to do that.**

 **Oh, and I got a message for someone here it is:**

 **Hi**  
 **I would like to notify you that your story has been nominated for the Bring Me to Life Awards :)**

 **reading breaking dawn- the missing chess piece award**  
 **reading eclipse- the red ribbon award**  
 **reading new moon- bloody rose award**  
 **reading twilight- shiny apple award**

 **Get your readers to vote for you! and remember that you can't vote for your own.**  
 **to look at the other nominations and the rules go to the official site:**

 **.**

 **Good Luck**

 **xoxo**

 **-GreenEyes555**

 **So that was the message, if you want to vote for me cool if not, that fine too. I only wrote these stories because I wanted to know what the Cullen's would have been thinking, but it is nice to know that my hard work paid off.**


	13. A Date with Destiny

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirteen

A Date with Destiny

Edward was amazed at how much he had progressed over the last week. Like he had planned, he had taken all of the precautions he thought would be necessary at this point to ensure Bella's safety from him. He had not hunted in more than two weeks and he didn't feel himself slacking on his restraint at all. Obviously he was more tempted by her the longer that he didn't hunt, and he found himself breathing less and less around her, but it wasn't anything he couldn't handle.

He knew the scent would always be the sweetest thing he will ever come across, and the venom that formed in his mouth wasn't going to go away whenever he reacquainted himself with her after the few hours he left her alone. However, he didn't expect it to be this easy to ignore … or more like, after encasing this issue in a small part of his brain, he was able to concentrated most of his energy on her.

Take now for instance, he was talking to her, they were sitting on the couch at his house alone for once as his family was nice enough to give them some peace. Her hand was resting against his and yet he didn't feel any primal instincts to hurt her.

"So, tomorrow's Saturday," Edward said. He was feeling anxious about what he was about to say. He had never actually asked a girl out before, and though he was confident what her answer would be, he found that he was still quite nervous about this.

"I know," Bella said looking at him curiously, as if asking why he was stating the obvious.

"I was wondering if you were free?" Edward asked.

"Edward, I'm always with you …" Bella asked, again confused by his line of questioning.

Edward sighed. "I was thinking I could take you somewhere nice, and then perhaps we could go to the Meadow," he said hoping he was getting across what he was trying to say. It was odd to ask something like this when he had been spending almost every minute of the day with her all this time, but he wanted this day to stand out among the others.

Bella looked at him for a long time and he felt himself get more uncomfortable the longer she stayed silent. Again he longed to know what she was thinking behind those beautiful brown eyes. "Are you…" she started to say, her voice coming out as uncertain and yet hopeful, "are you asking me on a date?"

The blush that colored her cheeks bolstered his sense that it really was time, for all he took for the reaction was pride. "Yes," he said and looking down uncomfortable to try and mask his growing excitement as he thought of what that would mean. "If you don't want to …"

"Oh stop it," she said swatting at him and then trying to hide the fact that her hand stung from her rash attack. "You know I've been waiting for this since we've met."

"Me and you both," Edward chuckled. "Of course you know that this means I can't stay with you tonight …"

Bella's face fell slightly at that, she had gotten used to him always being there, but she nodded her head in understanding. "I suppose that makes sense."

"It's getting late," Edward said, and again Bella grimaced, he would normally go home with her but this time he wasn't going to and she knew it. "Don't worry, I'll pick you up at eleven tomorrow … that's only a few hours away and you'll be sleeping for most of them."

"If I can sleep tonight," Bella muttered under her breath uselessly. She then got up, and of course he followed her, walking her to the rusty thing she called a truck. She looked up at him, just as unwilling to be separated from him this short time as he was her. "Goodnight, Edward."

He felt a desire to lean down and kiss her, but he was not going to give in to that when his eyes were still black as coal. He settled for brushing her face with his thumb, and staring deep into her eyes until he heard her heart race and her breath catch. "Goodnight, Bella," he sighed, and then watched her go.

 _Are you ready?_ Emmett thought as soon as Bella's truck was out of sight and a second later he was clapping a hand on Edward's shoulder.

"What?" Edward questioned but he heard what his brother was thinking about before he could even finish his question. Emmett was planning on going on this quick unannounced hunting trip that Edward was now planning on going on. "How did you even know …?"

"Alice told us things were finally going to move forward with Bella," Emmett said smirking. "Seeing as this is your first date, you need advice from your big brother …"

"Argh," Edward groaned and growled at the same time. "You mean you couldn't let this opportunity to tease me to pass …"

Emmett snickered at that, _you know it. But seriously,_ _Edward,_ _I want to be there for you so you don't over think things before you even go on the date._

"Okay," Edward sighed, it wouldn't be so bad to go hunting with Emmett. "Though I'm surprised that Alice isn't here, too, with the way she likes to interfere with everything."

"Are you kidding?" Emmett's laughter boomed like always. "She's already started thinking about what she's going to do to make sure Bella is ready for this date."

"Argh," Edward groaned again.

"I don't know if Bella is ever going to forgive you for setting Alice loose on her without even a warning," Emmett continued to laugh. "And don't even think about interfering with that … you know you'll never get Alice to back off and you really do need to hunt."

"You're right," Edward sighed.

"If it's any consolation, from the sounds of Alice's muttering as she left the room, Bella is going to put up quite a fight about something," Emmett smirked and Edward couldn't help but smile at that idea. Bella was stubborn enough to even stop Alice from getting everything she wanted.

"Let's go," Edward sighed and the two vampires ran in hopes of finding some prey that would be halfway satisfying. He knew that he couldn't travel where he would normally like to and he was likely going to have to settle for some elk or other herbivores. He did hope to come across at least one predator.

O

Bella was so nervous with excitement about actually going on a date with Edward that she couldn't pass Charlie without him asking questions about her day. As she had already talked to him during dinner, the conversation didn't last long, but she was aware by the grimace he gave at the end of the conversation that he had gathered the importance of tomorrow. Luckily he didn't seem to want to make anything of it, for he let her go after he knew where she was going to be.

Once she got to her room she wondered what she was going to wear, until she realized that she had already known exactly what it would be. She had been saving this for a special occasion and she knew this was it. She looked at the clock and noticed that she had another twelve hours before she was going to see Edward again … for their date!

That thought had her on edge again and she made her way to try to get ready for bed. As she remembered how he had asked her out … by mentioning the meadow, all the progress she had made to calm herself down evaporated. She had always thought it was an unspoken agreement that Edward wouldn't take her there until he was ready to take the next step. The place held a sense of enchantment for her that she couldn't explain, and she knew that after tomorrow everything between her and Edward was going to change forever … and she couldn't wait for that.

Taking a leaf out of her own book, Bella decided to take some cold medicine before going to bed. She could just imagine what the others would say to that but she didn't care, she knew that she wouldn't sleep at all if she had to rely on doing it the natural way.

Her alarm rang at eight o'clock sharp; she felt that was enough time to get ready. What she didn't count on was having an annoyed vampire in her room, one who didn't seem to agree with her earlier thought.

"I didn't think you were ever going to wake up," Alice huffed at her, "now I can only do half the things that I was planning on."

"What?" Bella questioned the little vampire, trying to understand what was going on here. "Alice?"

"Yes, yes, I'm here, now get up, Bella," Alice said impatiently. "There's so much to do in so little time."

Sighing, Bella got out of bed and had to listen to Alice grumble about how slowly she reacted in the morning. In fact, it wasn't for another half hour before Bella found herself at Alice's complete mercy … she had been allowed human time to do things like eat and use the restroom.

When she got back to her room she saw that Alice hadn't been idle in her time alone, there was a vast number of products lying on her dresser along with clothes and other accessories. Bella groaned, now understanding completely what her book self had meant when she said that she felt like guinea pig Barbie. She noticed Alice's excited expression and sighed, but at least this was keeping her from panicking over what was going to happen in a few hours.

"I wasn't sure what you were going to wear," Alice said as she came in. "No matter what I picked I couldn't see you in it … I suppose that meant that I was actually going to let you choose." Clearly she found that thought odd, but she shrugged her shoulders. "So hurry up and pick so we can get started."

"I already know what I'm going to wear, Alice," Bella grumbled and looked over the other outfits that Alice had brought. They were all obviously expensive and seemed nice for both going out somewhere and hiking through the woods, which she assumed she was going to be doing.

"But …" Alice said in disbelief, "it took me forever to think of how to dress you …"

Bella narrowed her eyes at the tiny vampire, and set her jaw in her most stubborn way. "I'm not going to change my mind about this. I have been saving this blouse since I first learned that Edward liked it, for a day like today …" as she spoke she pulled out the blouse in question.

"Hmph," Alice said, her eyes glazing over and her scowl turned into a pout. Bella felt her resolve loosen slightly, it was hard to stay firm with Alice when she was looking so sad. Bella noticed Alice's mouth twitched upward before it fell again. "It looks like Edward agrees with you."

"Huh?" Bella said.

"He'll be happier if you wear your blue blouse," Alice sighed, "but that's okay, I've brought enough options to be able to handle anything you would wear. I'll have you looking amazing by the time I'm done with you."

"Are you saying that I don't always look amazing?" Bella questioned, trying to keep her tone teasing though she agreed with the statement more than her friend needed to know.

Alice rolled her eyes, "you know what I mean … if Edward isn't speechless when he first sees you, I'll buy you a pony."

"Oh, I've always wanted a pony," Bella said with false enthusiasm.

"Isn't that what all teenage girls ask for?" Alice laughed and Bella laughed with her, letting Alice do whatever she wanted. She wouldn't mind it one bit if Edward was speechless when he saw her.

O

"Argh, you would think we would have found more than one carnivore in ten hours of hunting," Emmett grumbled as they came back to the house. "You seriously owe me for letting you have the bear."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Edward chuckled at his brother's grumbling. "Though suffering though all your comments about what I should do today seems like a fair enough trade off for your generous gift of allowing me to have the tasty, highly irritated grizzly bear."

Emmett narrowed his eyes at his brother; _see if I'm ever nice to you again_.

Edward chuckled again, though he was thinking of a way to repay his brother for not only allowing him to have the best spoil of their hunt, but also keeping his mind off worrying about what was going to happen today. He wasn't sure if he was going to buy something for his brother or to agree to Emmett's next challenge (he supposed he would just have to see what the challenge was before he decided).

He ran upstairs to his room and noticed an outfit lying out on his bed for him with a note from Alice. He wavered for a moment on whether or not to wear it, but he decided there was no point ignoring her help. She was right that having Emmett come with him last night was a good thing after all.

Not sure what to do with himself after he was dressed, he went downstairs where he found Esme fluttering around, fixing things up. She normally didn't do such things and he knew that she was only doing it now because she was excited about something and he could guess too easily what that was.

"Edward," she beamed when he got downstairs, "you look so handsome." _I can't believe that it's_ _finally_ … _La, la, la …_ at this point she started to focusing on her favorite song, the one that Edward had written for her so he couldn't hear the rest of her thought. He was grateful, though he knew the general direction they were heading, it was still nice not to hear.

"Thanks, Mom," he said with a smile, using the term that he knew would always bring a smile to her face. He didn't often call her Mom, but it felt right for this moment, because she was definitely acting like a mother happy that her son was going on a date with a girl he really liked.

Like every other time he had to wait for time to pass before he could see Bella again, he felt anxious for the time to hurry up. This time he forced himself to stay at his house. He was going to give Bella the time he said he would. So, he sat down at the piano and played a number of songs as he waited for the seconds, minutes and then hours to go by.

Finally it was time and he ran to his Volvo and raced down the drive towards Bella's house. He got there seconds before he was expected, the instant it was eleven o'clock he was knocking on the door. He smiled as the door opened only a second after that. Obviously she was just as anxious for this to happen too. She must have been standing by the door.

His breath caught when he saw her beaming at him a little anxiously as if not sure what he was going to think about her. She didn't have to worry as he looked her over; his eyes paused as he noticed the blue blouse and how it seemed to bring out the natural beauty of her skin. The creamy skin seemed to subtly change in tone as a blush crept into it and Edward continued his progress upward, to her face. He knew at that moment that Alice most definitely had been there because of the professional way the makeup Bella was wearing had been applied.

As always her eyes were the main focus of his gaze and the fact that they were somehow made even more brilliant with the subtly lining that surrounded them had him taking shallow breaths to relax himself. It didn't help when he noticed the other drawing feature of her, her lips, were a very tempting shade of red. He was having trouble deciding on what he should focus on and he felt grateful that he was a vampire and he could take in everything more than a mortal could, though even his concentration didn't feel like it was enough at the moment.

"Edward," she was the one to speak first, her voice breathless. His attention immediately focused on her lips and he felt a chill go through him as she said his name.

"Hm …" Edward said, unable to form words at the moment.

"I suppose I don't get a pony now," Bella said smugly, and that caused Edward's brain to snap back in place. Her laughter at his expression helped him gain even more control of himself.

"What?" Edward asked, his mouth going thin in his own amusement now, she never says what he thinks she will.

"Alice said she would get me a pony if you weren't speechless when you first saw me," Bella shrugged.

"I see," Edward chuckled. "Well, if you really wanted a pony I'll make sure you have one."

"Honestly, Edward," Bella rolled her eyes in exasperation. "I'm quite pleased I'll not be getting a pony."

"Hm … I don't know how you could have doubted Alice when you look like that," Edward said looking over her again, though this time he didn't let himself get lost in her features. "You look exquisite! I must say that I've been waiting to see that blouse on you … Once again reality has exceeded my expectations."

Bella blushed a deeper shade of red and Edward held out his hand for her to take. Once they got into the car, Edward turned to her, much to Bella's surprise.

"I wasn't sure what you would prefer," Edward answered the questioning look before she could voice it. "I was thinking that we could either sick with events that had occurred in the book and go to La Bella Italia or if you would want a more original idea, for which I'm prepared …"

"La Bella Italia sounds good to me," Bella interrupted him, she didn't care where they went, honestly, she was looking forward to going to the meadow more than anything and going to Port Angles would mostly likely be closer than any other place.

Edward just smiled at her for another minute and she wondered if he was lost in her appearance again. The thought had her blushing before she could stop it and he smiled before he started the car and they were racing off to Port Angles. He had mastered the art of keeping her from really noticing how fast he was going. He kept her mind on him the whole time, which she found was increasingly easy for her to do.

The hostess at the restaurant was definitely not the same one that they would have met, she was older and though she noted how incredibly handsome Edward was, she thought the two made a lovely couple. Or at least that was what Edward informed Bella she was thinking. Bella hoped that Edward had tipped this hostess even more generously than he did the one in the book for that comment. The waitress, however, was annoying, as Bella could see the jealous glares she gave her, and the longing ones she gave Edward. Edward decided it was best if Bella didn't know what the waitress was thinking, and didn't even tell her when she asked.

Putting that aside, Bella found that she was having a great time being with Edward, even though he laughed at her when she ordered the mushroom ravioli. "You don't have to do everything the same you know."

"I know … but it sounded good in the book," Bella shrugged and she wasn't disappointed, it really was good. Edward ordered something this time, the eggplant lasagna, telling her with a smirk that it was the only thing he could order besides her own dish that was vegetarian. She rolled her eyes at his comment and how amused he seemed by it. She watched him closely and was barely able to catch his moments as he slowly made his food disappear … looking like he was eating it.

"So, what do you want to do now?" Edward asked after they had left the restaurant.

"I thought you were going to take me to the meadow," Bella said.

"Hm … are you sure you wouldn't want to go to a movie?" Edward asked. "I could try to use my never before tried dating moves on you."

Bella raised an eyebrow, wondering what he meant by that. It sounded intriguing but she wasn't going to let anything talk her out of the trip to the meadow. "No, I want to go to the meadow."

"Okay," Edward said, "but I feel I should warn you that it won't look as enchanting as it did in the book at this time of year … And there will be no sparkling on my part today."

Bella laughed at that. "Consider me warned … but you should know that it doesn't matter what the meadow looks like, it's what it means to me that makes it appealing."

"And what is that?" Edward questioned but Bella shook her head. She didn't think she could explain it, and she didn't think she really had to … he must feel it, too.

She felt herself getting more and more nervous as they drove towards the meadow, and she could tell from his voice that he was nervous, too. As they got out of the Volvo, Edward looked back at Bella with a questioning look.

"What is it?" Bella asked.

"I was wondering whether you wanted to hike to the meadow yourself or if you would want me to carry you there?" Edward asked.

"Oh," Bella said, biting lip. The thought of walking for hours while she was this anxious was difficult, but at the same time she didn't know if she wanted to run with him. She had gotten sick after he did that in the book and she didn't look forward to that. However, she understood how much he loved running and she felt that it was something that he would like to share with her somehow.

"If you close your eyes, I'm sure it wouldn't be so bad," Edward said to her softly, trying to keep the excitement out of his voice. He didn't want to influence her, but he couldn't quite manage it.

"I suppose," Bella smiled at him and when his face broke into a smile she knew she said the right thing, even if she did become sick afterward, she would do anything to see that smile on Edward's face.

Edward moved quickly, and before she knew it she was on his back. "Close your eyes," he said softly and she saw him moving his head to look at her before her eyes shut. If it wasn't for the breeze that had suddenly picked up she wouldn't have known that they were moving. He didn't jostle her once during the time he ran them towards the meadow until he finally said, "you can open your eyes."

She expected to be in the meadow when she did, but she knew she wasn't when she opened her eyes. The trees gathering around her were like any other she could find anywhere. "What …?"

"I thought you would get the full effect of the meadow if you walk into it," Edward shrugged, impishly, he had obviously enjoyed the run and was feeling excited about what was going to come next … whatever it was. "Though, like I said it's not quite the best season for it."

"That's okay," Bella said. She couldn't help but be affected by his excitement, he was adorable.

He held out his hand for hers then and she took it without conscience thought of moving. She wondered where all the fears she had felt in the car had gone and how it now seemed as natural as breathing to walk with Edward toward the future that was unknown to her, but held promises of brilliance. She smiled when Edward looked back at her pointedly, his expression holding expectations but she couldn't tear herself away from his gaze to appreciate her surroundings. She could be standing in the middle of a dump right now and it wouldn't have mattered.

However, when he raised an eyebrow she forced herself to look up, and what she found was breathtaking. There weren't the wildflowers the book had described, and the grass was a different shade of green, without the cover of the trees or the forest it almost looked yellow in comparison (which she thought was a nice change of pace). She could hear the enchanting sound of the bubbling stream that wasn't in view but filled the meadow was a sense of music. She felt as if time was stilled for her and everything was how it was supposed to be, though if breaks in the clouds could come and she could see Edward in the sunlight, it would perfect. However, she felt the fact that it wasn't raining was a good enough trade off.

"It's beautiful," Bella said smiling at him, almost surprised at the intensity with which he was staring at her. He seemed to be taking in every expression she made as she looked at the meadow.

"Yes, beautiful," Edward agreed, but she had a feeling he wasn't talking about the meadow. He brushed a stray lock of hair that had fallen across her face away, his hand lingering on her cheek for a long time. "Breathtakingly beautiful."

And she was, her breath was taken away as he stared at her like that, her heart beating in anticipation of what she wasn't sure of but she waited for patiently anyway.

He wasn't sure either, as he looked down at her all he wanted to do was embrace her, kiss her with a passion he knew he couldn't use with her. Did he really have the strength to be gentle? Did he have the strength to resist if she attacks him like she had in the book? If it weren't for her eyes, he never would have tried (or at least he didn't think he would have), they were so trusting, so filled with love that he felt in that moment he could never do a thing to make them stop looking at him that way.

"Bella," he breathed softly, and as his scent hit her she shivered slightly, bringing herself closer to him, her eyes still filled with love and trust. "Please, Bella, don't move."

"I'll try," Bella responded in a whisper that a human never would have heard, her heart beat was so loud at the moment it drowned all the other sounds in the meadow out … it was the only thing important in that moment.

Edward leaned down slowly, hesitating like she had said in the book because he was trying to test himself … but also hesitating because he had looked forward to this moment for a month and a half … no, he has been waiting for this moment for more than a hundred years. He was sure if he were human, his palms would be sweaty and his heart would be pounding just as hard as Bella's was. As it was, his stomach was tense and he was feeling even more aware of everything as he slowly moved towards Bella.

He watched as she slowly closed her eyes in anticipation, he heard her take shallow breaths; he focused on her beautifully shaped red lips. He stopped himself from thinking of the scent she would have as he got closer to her, it was locked away in the deepest most guarded chamber of his mind. And then his lips touched hers and it was incredible how much feeling shot through him in that instant. There was nothing in this world he wanted more than to be kissing Bella.

Bella's mind went blank as she felt the cold hard lips touch hers. All the strength she tried to put in making sure she stayed still, so that she didn't make this harder on him vanished as every inch of her longed to be closer to him. Her arms where raised, almost touching his face before she found any sense of herself, and the majority of her didn't wanted to listen to her logic. _Edward … I need Edward,_ she thought but with a sharp remembrance of the pain it would cause him she stopped the advance (with a grumble). She still sighed when he pulled away, she didn't want him to stop!

"Well," Edward said in a prideful voice, smiling down at her smugly. "It seems that you showed a little more caution than you did in the book."

"And you're happy about that?" Bella said. "I thought you were smug about the effect you had on me."

"Oh, I am," Edward assured her still grinning, she was sure he wasn't going to stop anytime soon. She noticed that she was grinning as well. "And from what I can see, I still have that effect on you … you're just bettering at controlling yourself."

"Well, don't think it's going to last for too long, mister," Bella said, trying to look stern. "I'm sure I'll be attacking you as soon as I'm sure you're ready for it … and I predict that's going to be pretty soon."

"Argh," Edward groaned, not in an angry way, but in a way that made her think that he wanted that to happen very much, but was terrified at the same time. "I suppose that's just something I'm going to have to get used to," he eventually said, leaning down to rest his head on hers, breathing her scent in this time, after stilling his body. Mouthwatering, yes it was still that, but it was more now, too. It filled him with burning and love in equal measure now, and he knew he wouldn't be as affected as much anymore.

They stayed standing like that for awhile, but Edward sensed that Bella was starting get uncomfortable staying in the same place for so long. So he pulled away, for which she of course protested, and then led them deeper into the meadow. He found a nice patch of grass and sat down opening his arms for her. She didn't hesitate a moment and flung herself at him with a little more force than was necessary, but it only caused him to chuckle, especially when she started to blush. They stayed like that for the remainder of the day until it was twilight; just lying in one other's arms.

 **A/N: Well, I seriously hope I did okay with this chapter. I never considered myself the best at dealing with something like this … I don't pay enough attention to details for that. Anyway, I thought it** **came together nicely … but only the reviews will tell. Oh, and I wanted to say thanks to gottaloveashley for mentioning the Bella barbie, because I don't think I would have had the Bella/Alice (and Edward/Emmett) scene, and I enjoyed writing it. Well, on to next week, which will go into the werewolves again.**


	14. Wolf Stuff

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia who beta this story.**

Chapter Fourteen

Wolf Stuff

Things were going remarkable well for Bella at the moment. Actually, _well_ didn't cover it; she didn't think _extraordinary_ would cover it. Edward was no longer just staying in her room; he was now holding her as she slept at night. It took her a while to get completely used to this. Her heart would race until he would hum her to sleep and she needed at least one extra blanket, and some times more, so she didn't freeze. However, she quickly learned to deal with that and now she found that it would be impossible to sleep without him holding her.

Another thing that she was quite excited about was the fact that Edward didn't really seem to suffer at all when she kissed him. She figured that out as he often surprised her with intense, though unfortunately short, kisses when she wasn't expecting it. After that, she felt quite comfortable about allowing her instincts take over, though she hadn't had a chance to ' _attack_ '... not yet at least.

She was also pleased when she noticed that Jasper no longer shied away from them whenever they were at the Cullens' house, which was quite often. That change didn't happen all at once, but within a week after she and Edward shared their first kiss she realized that Jasper was around her - even when Edward was there - just as much of the rest of the family.

The only slightly irksome part of her new found relationship with Edward was when she informed Charlie of the change in status. Edward was insistent that Charlie deserved to know that his daughter was dating someone... more specifically him... and she had to agree that he had a point. Besides, she felt that her dad probably already realized the truth and she didn't want to lie (she wasn't very good at it). So, that Sunday, she had told her father, and the evening somehow turned into having Edward coming over for dinner and she had to sit through an excruciating dinner where Charlie asked embarrassing questions before retiring to the living room. All in all, it wasn't so bad; at least Charlie didn't have a reason to dislike Edward.

She was startled when she realized that she had been in Forks for over a month and that it was now the first Wednesday of March, which would have been the day she would have been asked out by three guys. She knew that wasn't going to happen this time, not only because she was with Edward every possible second she could be even during school hours, but because she hardly talked to either Mike or Eric and she never even said so much as hello to Tyler.

Still, something was nagging at the back of her mind as she thought about this, though it had nothing to do with the dance or the boys who were supposed to ask her out. No, what she was thinking about was the fact that she had met Jacob in the book this weekend. She was thinking of the fact that other than the five phone calls, she hadn't talked to Jacob since the time he came to the Cullens' house. Obviously she hadn't seen him either, and she hated that. It was the one truly dark spot on her otherwise happy life.

As the weeks passed, she got more and more nervous about the silence, thinking that there had to be something she could do, but Edward was insisting that distance was the best thing for the situation right now. He did admit that he didn't think it would have taken this long. However, he still believed that things would work out in the end. Of course this only made her worry more as she realized there wasn't anything the Cullens could do to help Jacob out other than living their virtuous lives.

She had half a mind to march down to La Push and do whatever she could. However, she resisted the temptation. The only reason why she did this was because when she talked to Jacob those few times he had called, he said he was making progress and that most of the people in the village no longer hated him. Not altogether reassured, she at least had to take something out of the fact that he was able to joke about this.

Still, the thought of actually going to see her friend was appealing. As she thought of this, she realized that the Quileutes couldn't really say anything if she showed up at First Beach with a bunch of other people from her class. Of course, she wasn't really sure she was invited to the beach trip this time around... but it was an interesting idea to play with. Then again, would Jacob even be at the beach?

"Edward?" Bella said as she got out of bed, it was still several minutes before her alarm was due to go off but she had awakened almost an hour ago naturally. "What are our plans this weekend?"

Edward raised an eyebrow quizzically, having a feeling that she had a specific reason for asking this, but he didn't press the subject. "I don't think we've made any... though it is supposed to be sunny, so I thought we might go somewhere outdoors."

Bella's mouth thinned, just the thought of seeing Edward in the daylight made her want to abandon her half thought out plan. "That sounds nice... do you think you'll be taking me back to the meadow?"

"I'm not sure," Edward said thoughtfully. "I would have to make sure with Alice if the wildflowers are blooming yet... I wouldn't want to go there again without them."

"That's true."

"Do you want to wait to see me sparkle until we go to the meadow... that is if the flowers won't bloom until next week?"

"I don't think I can wait that long," Bella bit her lip. "The thought of how you look like in the sun is too appealing to wait for anything. Besides, I have a feeling that the sight will eclipse any surrounding."

Edward chuckled, smiling smugly. "What were you really going to say, Bella?" he then questioned, looking serious.

"It's nothing," Bella sighed, but he kept looking at her until she had to answer him. "I just thought maybe I could go to the beach on Saturday... to First Beach."

"Oh," Edward said thoughtfully, "It seems like time has passed without me even realizing it. To think it is already March..."

"I was thinking the same thing," Bella smiled at him.

"I take it you were inquiring about this because you wanted to see Jacob at the beach," Edward sighed.

"Yes, but I can find some other way to see Jacob," Bella said. "I really do want to see..."

"No, I think this is an excellent way for you to see your friend," Edward frowned, deep in thought. "I know you've been worrying about him more and more lately. You can see me in the sunlight anytime, but this is a safe way for you to go to La Push and put your worries to rest."

"Safe... do you think they would try to do anything to me?" Bella cocked her head to the side; that sounded ridiculous to her.

"No," Edward chuckled, "but I think something like this would make things easier."

"I still don't know if I want to wait..." Bella started.

"I actually need to hunt anyway, Bella," Edward said. "And I'm sure Emmett would like it if we went to Mount Rainier. The grizzlies are supposed to be extra irritated this weekend. I could leave Thursday after you fall sleep and I will be back before you wake on Sunday."

"I don't know..." Bella said, she didn't want him to be gone for that long, but it did seem like a good plan. "I suppose that will work. Now all I have to do is somehow make sure that I get invited to the beach trip."

"Don't worry, you know that you could do anything as long as you put your mind to it," Edward chuckled, "you've proven that time and time again."

Bella smiled at him and before she could say anything else her alarm went off and she had to get ready for school. Edward left then, so he could change his clothes before he came back to pick her up.

At school she found that it wasn't as difficult to get invited to the trip as she had thought, because Jessica asked her to come. It was after a rather lengthy conversation of how Mike had said yes when she had asked him to the dance and Jessica was so happy about this (and the well placed encouragement on Bella's part) that she just blurted out the invitation. Bella's happy acceptance seemed to please Jessica, though she looked slightly disappointed when Bella informed her that Edward would be camping with his brother.

At Bella's raised eyebrow, Jessica just shrugged, "Come on, I know he's your boyfriend and all, but I still wouldn't mind seeing him without his shirt on."

Bella blushed at that, she still hadn't seen that yet and she didn't think it would be fair if a bunch of other girls got to see that before she did. She was suddenly very glad that Edward couldn't go to First Beach. "That's understandable," she said coldly and Jessica mumbled an apology that definitely wasn't sincere, but she didn't expect it to be. Bella had a hard time concentrating for the rest of class because she was thinking of Edward without a shirt on... and even added what she thought he would look like in the sunlight...

"Earth to Bella," Jessica giggled, waving a hand in front of Bella's face, distracting her from her very appealing thoughts. "It's time to go."

"Okay," Bella sighed and followed Jessica to their next class. Bella determinately paid attention to everything that was said in Spanish class, she didn't want Jessica laughing at her again. This just made it seem like it took forever before the bell rang for lunch and Bella was able to see Edward again. After telling him of her success, she had to endure the others voicing their opinions on this matter. The least helpful of them all was that Bella should count herself lucky that she didn't have to see the wolves and it was best to leave them to their own devices.

The rest of the day had passed just like the weeks before it, everything was perfect. The only thing she had to complain about was that it was too short; it seemed like no time before she was sleeping in her perfect boyfriend's arms. The next day was much the same, though she had waited outside of the Biology class and told Mr. Banner that she couldn't stand being around blood, and he gave her a pass to go the library instead.

On Friday, Bella was a little sad, for when she woke up Edward wasn't there. He had left to go on his hunting trip. She went to school in her truck, something she hadn't done in almost two weeks, and was a little startled when she started the engine (she had gotten used to the purr of Edward's Volvo). She was surprised that Alice was waiting for her when she got out, but smiled all the same.

"What's up, Alice?" Bella asked.

"I had a vision this morning of Jessica asking you to lunch since she knows that Edward isn't going to be here," Alice shrugged, watched as Bella looked at her apprehensively, "just as I thought. You don't have to say no because you think you would hurt my feelings..."

"What if I don't want to have lunch with them?" Bella asked.

"Oh, because they're going to bombard you with questions about us," Alice said. "That will only last the first ten minutes, after that they move on to the upcoming dance. Besides, I have a feeling it will help Angela if you're there. Jessica and Lauren are going to make her go with Eric and the girl deserves so much better than that. If you're there you might be able to put her on the right track. And if not... well, you know we can't be there on Monday and Tuesday and I hate to think of you all by yourself for so long."

"Okay, okay, I'll have lunch with them," Bella said, rolling her eyes at Alice's last comment. Though, she felt pleased that she might be able to help Angela out.

Alice was right about the first ten minutes. The group of girls that Bella was surrounded by couldn't stop asking her questions about Edward and his family. She wasn't sure if it was her lack of juicy information or the fact that they were so excited by the dance, but the subject had turned and she was able to breathe again. She had sat down next to Angela, seeing as she hardly knew anyone else at the table, it seemed best. She couldn't get much word in edgewise when Jessica and Lauren made their case for Eric. The biggest point they could come up with was that he was tall, which admittedly seemed to please Angela somewhat. Bella decided not to say anything at the table though, knowing the shy girl wouldn't appreciate sharing this with everyone... she wasn't even sure she would share it with her.

"I noticed you didn't seem very interested in Eric," Bella said, as she and Angela headed towards Biology.

"Well... I mean he's nice... I just, I don't know," Angela said, shyly.

"Sorry... I don't mean to pry," Bella sighed, she shouldn't have started the conversation off like this, she sounded just like the other girls.

"It's okay, Bella," Angela smiled easily, before she frowned. She seemed to deliberate about something before she added in a whisper, "I just wish I could be as brave as you are..."

"Brave?" Bella said, not agreeing with that. "I'm not really that brave."

"You're with Edward, aren't you?" Angela shrugged. "You make it look so easy, but I'm sure it took some courage to be with him."

"Maybe a little," Bella said, thinking back to her first day when she wasn't sure what would happen when she first meet Edward. "But being with Edward is the most natural thing in the world to me."

"Well, I'm happy to hear that, and only slightly envious," Angela chuckled, and then sighed.

"Hm... do I sense that you might like someone?" Bella questioned, keeping her voice light.

"I..." Angela said, her cheeks coloring in a blush. "I... might."

Bella smiled, she wasn't sure if Angela was going to open up to her, and if this didn't work she was going to let the subject drop. However, it seemed that she might still be able to help her friend with this. Still, she wasn't sure how to proceed. And, unfortunately, they had reached the classroom at that point and the bell was about to ring.

"Um... if you want to talk about it, you could call me... or we could do something after school," Bella said with a smile, but didn't get an answer right away. It wasn't until after the class that Angela agreed to talk to her after school. Pleased, Bella walked towards her gym class with a rare smile, though it didn't make the actual class any better.

Bella and Angela ended up at Bella's house after school and after a light amount of prodding Angela told Bella about liking Ben.

"... I don't know why I'm saying this," Angela ended with a sigh. "I don't even think that he likes me... I mean sometimes it seems like he might, but... nothing ever happens."

"Maybe he's just nervous that you don't like him," Bella offered. "It's hard for guys to ask a girl out. Take Edward for example," she went on, feeling uncomfortable being this open, but she knew that Angela wasn't going to tell anyone else what she said. "We had been spending all our time together, but he seemed so nervous when he asked me out..."

"Really?" Angela asked, truly surprised. "But he seems so confident about... everything."

"Tell me about it," Bella chuckled. "But like you said, it's sometimes hard to be brave where the heart is concerned."

"True," Angela said, looking timid again. "I suppose you want me to be the one to ask him out."

"I wouldn't go that far, but I do know someone has to make the first move or nothing is going to happen," Bella sighed. "Is Ben coming to the beach tomorrow?"

"I'm not sure," Angela said.

"Well, if he is, maybe you should just try talking to him," Bella suggested.

"Maybe," Angela said and Bella could tell the conversation was over; there was no use to push the topic any farther. The two girls quickly fell into a different topic and Bella smiled at how easy it was to be with Angela. Who said she can only relate to supernatural people? Angela went home not too long after Charlie showed up, and Bella made dinner for them in a semi good mood. She had a good day, much better than she thought she would, but she still missed Edward terribly.

O

Bella smiled as she walked back from the tide pools. They were just as intriguing as they had been a month ago, even more so because of the fact that they were very different than they had been at that time. However, the reason why she was smiling at the moment was because Angela was talking to Ben as they walked back up the beach. She wasn't sure what was going to happen, but she had a good feeling they might be able to work out their issues on their own.

When she got back to the beach she looked around hopefully, but it didn't seem like Quileutes where there at all. Sighing in disappointment she sat down near the driftwood fire so she could eat her lunch.

"Bella?" she heard a familiar voice say and she looked up to see Jacob smiling at her with two boys that were about their age standing behind him. That is, they looked as if they were fifteen, though Jacob looked older than that. He had grown a lot in the last few weeks and his face no longer had the same roundness it did when she had first met him.

"Jacob!" Bella said, beaming at her friend and got up to hug him.

He chuckled when he hugged her back, and when he pulled away from her he said, "I didn't expect you to be here! It's good to see you!"

"Ah, so you're the girl that got Jake in trouble," one of Jacob's friends said. "I can see why he did it."

"I take it you're Quil," Bella said holding a hand out to him.

"That's right," Quil smiled, looking slightly taken aback that she knew his name, but shook her hand anyway. "And I would be happy to get in trouble because of you anytime," he waggling his eyebrows.

"Idiot," Jacob smacked him on the back of his head, and pushed him away from Bella, who was trying to hold back a smile. He was just as Jacob had described him.

"You must be Embry," Bella said turning to Jacob's other friend.

"That's right, it's nice to meet you, Bella," Embry said, shaking Bella's hand.

"So, how are things going?" Bella asked, knowing she wouldn't get proper answers with the other two boys there, but she wanted to make sure Jacob was okay.

"Better," as Jacob said just as this other person, for she couldn't call him a boy, walked over to them. "Oh, hey Sam. Um... this is Bella."

Sam looked at her closely and Bella had to fight the urge to fidget. For some reason she envisioned this man banishing her from the beach. Telling her that she was part of the Cullen family now and that she couldn't come down here. Irrational as the thought may have been, she knew it came from the fact that she viewed herself as being part of the Cullen family.

"Hello," Sam said and gave Jacob a look before he moved on.

"Hi," Bella answered too late.

Quil and Embry were laughing, and Quil said, "I don't think I've seen him that irritated before. What did you do to him? Steal his teddy bear or something?"

"That's enough," Jacob groaned. "Why don't you two beat it...?"

"Sure, Jakey, we'll give you some alone time with your girlfriend," Quil said in a cooing voice as Embry snickered. When Jacob made to step towards them, the two scattered.

"Do you want to take a walk?" Jacob said to Bella when they were alone, he was looking over her shoulder and noticed a few people looking at them. "It would be better if we talk in private."

"Of course," Bella said and they walked until they found a piece of drift wood they could sit on that was well away from the others. "So tell me... everything that happened."

"Okay," Jacob said thoughtfully. "Well I told you about what happened at my house that first day with Dad and Sam. They found out that I was hanging out with the Cullens and that I knew that our legends were true. After that...

 _Jacob woke up the next morning feeling like crap and it just got worse when he remembered everything that had happened. His dad had yelled at him, called him a stupid kid that didn't understand how dangerous his intentions were. What hurt worse though was when he was called a traitor, for being sympathetic towards the Cullens he was considered a traitor._

 _When Bella called the next day he found it awkward having Billy watch him, his eyes were cold and he looked regretful about something. When he hung up he knew what it was. Billy didn't like that Bella was around the vampires either, he didn't like to think of Charlie's little girl being around those monsters. He wanted Jacob to listen to reason and try to warn her how dangerous the vampires were. Jacob's defense that she knew them better than Billy could imagine didn't help the situation at all._

 _Billy took Jacob to the Council Meeting that he had called that evening in hopes that the story that they could tell could make him see the truth. Jacob was under the impression that Billy thought the Cullens had brainwashed him and Billy was trying to counter that the only way he could think of. Jacob found the stories fascinating... hearing them when you knew they were real brought a whole new light to them and he could see why the Elders were so scared. However, he had seen the Cullens as humans, he had seen that they have wants and desires that go beyond just blood and they weren't the same as the monsters in these stories. He told the council as much, he tried to tell them everything he'd learned, but they weren't listening to him. They all looked at him with a mixture of pity, fear and disdain. However, when he said that he by no means found other vampires to be less than vile monsters everyone seemed to be slightly appeased._

 _Sam and Jared approached him after the meeting and he felt unnerved. He knew they were werewolves, and he knew it was likely that he was one day going to join them. He didn't like to think that they would hate him when and if he did; it seemed like a bad thing. Especially, since he would apparently share their thoughts._

" _Even though you haven't changed yet, Jacob, it seems like it will be only a matter of time," Sam said in a calm voice. "Therefore, I think it would be best if you continued to come to the meetings... and I am going to be considering you a member of the pack."_

" _Um..." was all Jacob could say to that, he wasn't sure if this was a good thing or not._

" _Relax, kid, we're not going to hurt you or anything," Jared chuckled. "We just want you to understand everything about your heritage... and stuff like that."_

" _So, you're going to try and brainwash me..." Jacob started to say, but knew he said the wrong thing when Jared started to shake in an unnatural way._

" _Jared," Sam said in the same calm voice, placing a hand on his shoulder. The other boy took a deep breath and stopped shaking. "Go take a run."_

" _Yeah," Jared sighed, and he left, his movements so fast that Jacob could hardly see what had happened._

" _You should watch what you say, if we lose our tempers..." Sam said and cringed, his face becoming so remorseful Jacob couldn't look at him. "You seem to think that the Cullens are more than just monsters, and you might be right, but it won't be easy for you to prove that. I just ask you, Jacob, that you listen to our story... learn what we have passed down through the generations._

" _Oh, and you might be interested in the fact that it's because of the Cullens that we transformed in the first place," Sam said, his voice no longer calm, it was filled with an anger that made the hairs on Jacob's arms rise. Sam ran away before Jacob could say anything about that and he was left with his thoughts. He wondered what Sam had meant, and he wondered if he would resent the Cullens when and if he changed or if he would be able to remember what he had learned._

 _When Jacob and Billy got home, Jacob was told that he wasn't going to be going out anytime soon. It was so weird to have Billy assort his authority like this but Jacob didn't want to push his dad at the moment. Still, the next day he didn't head straight home like he had promised. There was something that he had to take care of before and he didn't want to wait._

 _He knocked on the Clearwater's door and was glad (though terrified) when Sue answered the door. She had been at the council meeting the other night along with her husband so Jacob wasn't surprised when she looked at him coldly._

" _Jacob," she said, clearly saying_ 'what are you doing here' _._

" _Um... there's something that I have to tell you," Jacob said, Sue just continued to look at him coldly; a raise of the eyebrow was the only movement she made to indicate that she was listening. "Well, I didn't really get a chance to explain how I came to... um... know the Cullens..."_

 _Sue made an impatient noise there, narrowed her eyes and made to close the door, but Jacob put his hand to still the door._

" _Please... just give me a minute," Jacob said earnestly and Sue's expression relaxed slightly. "I read a book... it was about the future..."_

 _There was another skeptical rise of the eyebrow from Sue at this point._

" _I know it sounds crazy, but it's true," Jacob said, "me and Bella read a book about when she first got to Forks and it was... I don't know it was real... everything made sense."_

" _I don't see what this has to do with me..." Sue cut in coldly._

" _I know what I read was true... the book told about a future that was going to happen," Jacob went on talking really fast now. "And if things go as they did in the books Harry's going to have a heart attack."_

" _What?" Sue said her eyes going wide in shock and Jacob could see a myriad of emotions cross her face before she blocked her expressions._

" _I know it sounds crazy," Jacob repeated. "And things might have changed enough that this wouldn't happen... but I had to tell you..." the mask that he was looking at filled him with dread. She didn't believe him... She thought he was just making this up. "Please... if you don't believe anything else, you have to believe that I wouldn't want anything to happen to you or Harry. You've been like second parents to me... and I don't want Seth and Leah to know... I don't want them to go through that..."_

 _Sue let out a breath, and her eyes turned stoic, "thanks for telling me this, Jacob."_

 _Jacob didn't know what else to do, so he nodded his head and left. He wasn't sure if she had really listened to him, but at least he knew that she would watch Harry closely. Feeling slightly better now, he went back home to serve his punishment. It was hard to stay home all the time, not even able to hang out with Quil and Embry, but he didn't complain. He used this time to think over everything he learned. And he was learning something new almost every day. Sam was true to his word, and he was told all the legends... explained what it meant to be a werewolf._

 _When he went over to Sam and his girlfriend, Emily's, house, Jacob really learned a lot. Emily told him about how she really got the scar that marred her beautiful face and how much pain Sam had to go through when he turned. Jacob knew that Sam had very good reasons to be mad at the Cullens, and to an extent he was upset too, but he knew that it was never their intention to hurt anyone. He could also see why Sam had never told him this himself, it was too painful for him to be in the same room as Emily relayed the story. Jacob knew that as soon as he transformed he was going to be able to see this... see Sam's memories of all of this and he knew it would be so much worse from that point of view._

"... that's pretty much what I've been up to," Jacob said. "Billy just let me out of the cell yesterday."

"I'm so sorry, Jake," Bella sighed.

"For what? You didn't do anything wrong," Jacob shrugged. "And things really weren't that bad... I think I'm starting to get to them."

"And they're not making you think the Cullens are monsters?" Bella asked.

"They're trying, but I still remain unaffected as of yet," Jacob chuckled. "Of course, they're still unaffected at my insistence that they're not so bad... I guess we're at an impasse."

"Hm... maybe when you're all wolfed out you'll be able to get the point across more clearly," Bella said. "I mean you can't really hide anything when your minds are linked like that right?"

"Probably, but I'm actually hoping not to turn for awhile," Jacob said.

"Oh... Jake, I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said that," Bella bit her lip.

"You're so easy," Jacob laughed at her. "I..."

"Hey, Jacob, there you are," someone said and Bella saw a tall boy walking towards them. "Oh... sorry, I didn't see you were with someone..."

"It's cool," Jacob said, "Jared, this is Bella, Bella, Jared."

"Oh," Jared said, he seemed to be confused about what to think judging by his expressions, "hey."

"Hello," Bella said timidly.

"I suppose I don't have to be all secretive and covert now, do I?" Jared mumbled to himself, before he turned to Jacob. "Sam wanted to see you... I guess you can bring your friend..."

"No, that's okay, I think the others are about to leave, I really should be getting back or I'll be left behind," Bella said.

"Yeah, that's probably a good idea," Jacob sighed. "It was good to see you again, Bells."

"You too, Jake," Bella hugged him. She wasn't sure when she was going to see her friend again. "I really hope I'll be able to see you again soon."

"Subtle hint there," Jared muttered and then smiled at Bella.

"It might have been," Bella smiled back at him, "I really miss my friend."

"Well, you can come back here anytime," Jared said, "just don't bring your leeches."

Bella grimaced at this, but didn't say anymore as the boy left.

"He means well," Jacob shrugged after he sighed. "And hey, at least you're invited back... it would be nice if I could see you more than once a month."

"Yeah," Bella agreed and hugged him again before she returned to her other friends.

 **A/N: Well, I had no idea where the first half of this chapter came from, but I think it was nice. And hey, I finished the werewolf part I wanted to get done for now so I get to move on. As the way things stand at the moment, there will be one more chapter before I do the one where Bella reads** _ **New Moon**_ **.**


	15. A Little of Everything

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Fifteen

A Little of Everything

Bella was relatively pleased with the way things had worked out on Saturday. She had a feeling that she was going to be able to see Jacob more often. That was why she was in such a good mood when she got home, feeling that everything in her life was now how it was supposed to be. It also helped that she was thinking about what Edward had said the other day and that she would soon be able to see him in the sunlight.

"I take it you had a good day," Charlie said when Bella brought out the lasagna she had made. He smacked his lips as he looked at the meal.

"Yep, I actually got to see Jake today," Bella smiled.

"Hm..." Charlie said, raising an eyebrow in an odd way. "You two haven't seen each other in a while."

"No," Bella agreed, not really wanting to get into the whole issue with her father, not knowing what she should say.

"So, how was the kid?" Charlie asked after he had taken some time to eat. Bella was sure he was thinking about something else to ask or say, but shrugged it off.

"He's good," Bella smiled. "I met some of his other friends today... Embry, Quil, Jared and Sam."

"Ah, that's nice," Charlie said as he smiled more naturally now. "So do you think you'll be spending more time over in La Push?"

"Probably a bit more, yeah," Bella shrugged. The rest of the meal passed in comfortable silence and then Charlie went to watch a game and Bella went to her room. When she got there Edward was waiting for her.

"Edward!" Bella exclaimed, though thankfully she was just able to keep it from being a yell that would alert her father. She then ran to her boyfriend, barely able to notice his brilliant smile at seeing her before she wrapped her arms around him and she kissed him hard... well at least he was hard.

Edward stiffened slightly in her arms and pulled away much too soon.

"Sorry," he said when she pouted at him. "I'm just not used to your scent yet."

"Oops, sorry," Bella said blushing slightly.

"No, don't be," Edward chuckled, leaning into her and breathing in deeply. "Two days... I don't think I want to be away from you for that long again."

"I agree," Bella said, burying her face in his chest.

Edward moved them to her bed soon after that and they barely had a chance to say anything before Bella was asleep, a smile on her face.

O

The next morning she woke up and noticed the light creeping into her room. She sat up and quickly turned to look at Edward, who was smiling bemusedly back at her. There was not a centimeter of Edward's skin in the sunlight and she sighed in disappointment.

"Is there something you want?" Edward questioned a knowing look in his eyes.

"You know what I want to see," Bella pouted. "I've waited over a month and..."

"You can wait a little longer," Edward interrupted, he was pointedly looking away from her for he didn't want to be influenced by her expression... his girl could make him do anything she wanted with a look... not that she realized that yet, but it was true all the same.

"Why?" Bella almost whined, and he could imagine clearly what her expression looked like, causing his lips to crawl upwards.

"Because this is not the best light, Bella," Edward chuckled. "I want you to get the best effect or you might be disappointed."

"I could never be disappointed with you," Bella in a soft but firm tone.

Edward smiled proudly, but said, "all the same, you'll have to wait until a little later."

"Oh, just say it and be done with it," Bella huffed this time, and Edward looked at her with confusion. "You just want to make a romantic scene of it."

"You caught me," Edward chuckled. "So hurry up and get ready."

Bella got out of the bed and went to pick an outfit to wear. "So are you going to tell me where you'll be taking me at least?"

"Unfortunately not the meadow," Edward sighed. "Alice said the wildflowers hadn't bloomed yet, so we'll wait until next week before we go there. I wasn't sure where to go, but there is a nice place near my house that has plenty of sunlight and this stream nearby... it's really quaint."

"It sounds lovely," Bella smiled, she loved watching when he was talking excitedly like he was now. His cheeks almost looked flushed, though she knew that had more to do with the fact that he had just hunted the day before and that made the shadows in his eyes lessen considerably.

It was only twenty minutes later that Edward was running with Bella on his back, her eyes were closed tightly, both because he asked her not to look until he said something and because she didn't want to feel sick when he ran like this. Even with her eyes closed she could feel his joy as they ran through the forest and she thought the next time they ran she might want to open her eyes so she could watch him. Surely that would be an effective enough distraction for her, his face often made her forget her own name.

"Okay," Edward finally said and the breeze that was blowing on her face ceased, and suddenly he was putting her on her feet. "You can open your eyes now."

Bella opened her eyes slowly, and the sight in front of her took her breath away. Even being prepared for the sight didn't make Edward in the sunlight any less breathtakingly beautiful. He had often said that he sparkled in the sunlight, and he did, but she thought that word was a terrible way to describe him, and yet she couldn't think of a better way to depict what she was seeing.

Her eyes travelled upwards to his face and she could see that he was watching her with an almost shy expression. She smiled at him, even with the books' assurance, he was afraid of how she would react to him. She brought a hand up to his face almost expecting to feel a difference in the texture of his skin, but it was as smooth and flawless as it had always been. He closed his eyes peacefully at the contact as she continued to stroke his cheek.

"You're beautiful," Bella whispered, and then added in an amused tone, "once again reality has exceeded my expectations."

Edward chuckled when she used his own saying against him.

"Why were you afraid, Edward?" Bella questioned. "You knew that I liked the way you looked in the sun..."

Edward opened his eyes slowly and his expression was sad. "I'm not really sure... part of it is that I never really know how you're going to react to me. But mostly I think it was because this marks me as truly being different... that I'm different from you... I don't know."

"It doesn't matter if you're different, you're still my Edward," Bella assured him, as she played with a lock of hair at the base of his neck.

Edward smiled at her, reaching up and taking a piece of Bella's hair in his hand and examining the change he found in it. It really did have a reddish tint to it. "Then again, it seems that I'm not the only one that changes in the sunlight..."

"That's right... we're not so different after all," Bella chuckled.

Edward soon led Bella towards a picnic blanket that had been set up for them.

"How did this get here?" Bella questioned.

"Alice," Edward said. "I asked her if she would."

"What if I didn't want to come here?" Bella asked, sitting down on the blanket and noticing that there was also some food there for her, which was good because Edward had taken her away from her home before she could eat breakfast.

"That's the benefit of having a sister that can see the future," Edward chuckled. "I didn't even have to call her to make sure that she set this up for us."

Bella chuckled at that and began nibbling on a piece of fruit. "I noticed that there's nothing hot in here..."

"Of course not, Alice predicted that it would take you some time before you got your fill of looking at me in the sun... her words," Edward chuckled.

"And you were still worried about how I would react," Bella shook her head at him playfully as he laughed with her. After she finished eating they lay down on the blanket, basking in the sun.

O

Later that afternoon, Bella and Edward went to Edward's house, where Bella thanked Alice for everything she had done for them. The little vampire just smirked smugly.

"I wonder if Jessica will still ask me to go to Port Angeles," Bella mused sometime later, again remembering that the Cullens wouldn't be in school for the next two days. She was going to have to spend the next two lunches without them. Her thoughts soon drifted to something else, something that had her shivering. She gasped and looked at Edward, who was looking at her warily for a second before he sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"I forgot to tell you something, didn't I?" Edward sighed.

"That depends; have you or your family already done something to the guy that was in Port Angeles?" Bella asked, hoping that this was want he was thinking about.

"Yes," Edward said.

"Edward, how could you not tell her that?" Alice reprimanded.

"You're the one that had a vision of him when you were with Bella and didn't tell her," Edward said.

"Oh, so you're saying that you wanted me to tell Bella that a psycho rapist was stalking a girl in Oklahoma right before your first date?" Alice rolled her eyes. "Especially since we weren't sure if we could get there in time to help the girl or not? Bella would have been worried about that the whole time."

"Did you help the girl?" Bella questioned immediately.

"Of course they did," Edward said softly. "Alice wouldn't have mentioned it if they weren't able to."

Bella nodded her head. She had thought as much, and she was pleased that someone else had benefited from them getting these books. "Oh," she said as she suddenly realized when Alice was talking about. "So that was what you saw... and why you ran away from my house before Edward could hear your thoughts."

"Yeah, she didn't want me to be worried about this either," Edward said. He was thankful for his sister's consideration, but he would have liked to help take the monster in that would have tried to hurt Bella.

"You wish you could have been there," Bella said, looking at Edward closely.

Edward smiled, "Yes, though not as badly as Rose wanted to be there."

"Carlisle was right not to let me go," Rosalie sighed and Bella jumped. She hadn't realized the blonde vampire was in the room, too. "I would not have let that bastard leave that place..." Her expression was hard, and she looked regretful that she didn't get to go.

Bella looked at her confusedly. Though Rosalie had been kind to her this last month, she still felt intimidated by the beautiful blonde vampire. The look in Rosalie's eyes also made her shiver, for she knew that Rosalie would have no problem with taking extreme measures with this man. Still, she had a feeling that she was missing something about this, for there was also pain in Rosalie's eyes.

"You don't know my story yet," Rosalie observed with a sigh. She knew full well that Bella had only read the first book and it would be awhile before she learned what she had gone through. She didn't feel comfortable telling this story to anyone, but somehow she thought it would make her bond stronger with Bella if she was the one to tell it.

"We'll give you some space," Alice said, and Edward sighed. They both saw it immediately when Rose had decided to share her story with Bella and that she wanted them to be alone.

"Thanks," Rosalie said, _please get Emmett_ , she added to Edward and he nodded.

"Um..." Bella said looking around... she had no idea what was going on. "Where are they going?"

Rosalie smiled. Bella was not used to Edward and Alice's reaction to someone's thoughts or a vision yet. "They're just letting me have a chance to talk... um... if that's alright with you?"

"Oh... yeah," Bella said, looking a little uncomfortable, but she was curious about everything that had happened in the last few minutes.

"I'm just going to tell you how I was turned," Rosalie said after sitting next to Bella. "It's not a happy story..."

Bella listened closely as Rosalie told her story, feeling sympathy towards the blonde vampire, who was this close to getting everything she ever wanted; before she was nearly killed by the man that she thought was going to be her husband. It was hard to listen to, thinking of how painful it had to have been for Rosalie to be that close... only to lose it... to realize that she could never have her dream. The tale also helped to explain why Rosalie was so jealous of humans, for her dream was so simple for them and yet impossible for her.

"So that was why you didn't like me," Bella mumbled after everything was said and done.

"That was part of the reason," Rosalie said. "But I'm sure I had more than one. You heard in _Midnight Sun_ about my jealousy. Of how vain I was to dislike you because you were the one that Edward chose, even though I never would have wanted Edward for myself." Rosalie smiled slightly before she continued, "and then the other excuse that Edward gave you in _Twilight_ was definitely true as well, I thought it was dangerous for a human to know our secret. And then yes, there is this reason... that I think it's wrong for you to give up your humanity... even if it is to be with the man you love..."

"You know I'm still planning on doing that," Bella mumbled, not able to look at Rosalie, in case she saw a glare on the vampire's face. "It's the only way I know how to be with Edward..."

"I know, Bella," Rosalie interrupted, and she prayed that Bella wouldn't ask why she seemed to have accepted this more than her book self ever would have. She knew she couldn't tell Bella about Renesmee, not yet.

Bella was contemplating asking why the change of mind, but she knew that Rosalie probably had her reason for not disclosing this, and the vampire had already shared a lot of herself today. She noticed that Rosalie looked emotionally drained and she was happy that not too long after that Emmett came into the room and instantly cheered Rosalie up, though there was still a sad, longing, look in the blonde vampire's eyes. She knew that Rosalie was thinking about the child she never could have, and the child of her friend, the boy with the curls.

Bella was quiet on the car ride home (Edward taking her in the Volvo because her truck was still at home), as she thought of all the things she heard today.

O

The rest of the school year seemed to go by in a flash. One minute she was talked into going to Port Angeles by a shy Angela who was beaming ear to ear when she said that she and Ben were going to the dance and she wanted Bella's help picking out a dress. Angela was a little surprised when she learned that Bella wasn't going to the dance, but luckily she didn't ask any embarrassing questions. Bella knew that she was going to have to go to at least one dance with Edward. He seemed to want that so much, and with that being said, she thought that it was going to be prom, not some girls' choice dance.

And that was exactly what happened. She went to prom with Edward, allowing Alice to dress her up, minus the stilettos heels, and she had a better time than she thought she would. Her last month or so of her junior year was spent much the same as her first month. Spending every minute she could with Edward, though sometimes she sat at a table with Angela and the other girls (that now had several guys at it; after the dance everyone seemed to pair off) when it was either sunny or Edward was hunting (knowing that school days were the days that he got to see Bella the least it was best if he hunted then). Occasionally, if Edward was hunting, Alice would join her at the other table, and with only minimal prodding she got Angela to open up to her.

Outside of school the only difference that she was pleased to note was the lightning of the Quileutes' restrictions. It wasn't long after going to the beach and she was allowed to visit Jacob again that he asked if she wanted to go to one of their council meetings. He told her that it was likely that the Elders only wanted her there so that she would change her mind about the Cullens. They hadn't changed his mind yet so it wasn't likely to affect her. With that encouraging invitation, Bella agreed to go, though she was going with the hope that she might be the one that would change the Council's opinion.

She did have better success than anyone thought she would, even herself, when she got them to agree to allow her house to be considered a neutral place and more importantly, to allow Jacob to go there on a trial basis. Though the first time Jacob came over when Edward and Alice were at the house, he came with Sam and Jared and things were tense to be sure, even though nothing happened. Sam had said through gritted teeth that he was trying to respect his pack brother's wishes, but that didn't mean that he was going to loosen any of the terms of the treaty.

"Well, that went better than I feared," Jacob sighed after Sam and Jared left.

"You're more trouble than you are worth, Pup!" Alice said with a grin.

"Yeah, right... I know you're just using me so that you could eventually get on the Council's good side," Jacob chuckled. "If it wasn't for that you wouldn't have bothered with me."

"Nah, that's just a pleasant side effect," Edward chuckled.

"Well, seeing as I'm providing you with a pleasant side effect, and that I'm not allowed to step foot anywhere near your house, do you think you can let Alice drive her car here sometimes?" Jacob asked with a pleading expression.

"Oh don't give me those puppy dog eyes, they don't work on me," Alice said. "Besides, Edward is the one that is strict about what cars we're allowed to drive in town."

Edward rolled his eyes, "We'll see."

Jacob had been to Bella's house three times after that, once when Alice did bring her car, which had Jacob and Charlie (when he came home) drooling over it again. Bella smiled as she thought of all that had happened in her life since she had met Edward, everything was how it was supposed to be. There was only one thing she had started to really think about as she grew closer to Edward. She made up her mind to discuss this issue with him the weekend after school was over, but when she had found that she was faced with the prospect, she felt like chickening out.

"You seemed to be quiet tonight," Edward said stroking her hair.

"We don't always talk," Bella said defensively.

"True," Edward agreed, he enjoyed just being in her company, they didn't need to talk. "However, usually you're not this stiff... is there something on your mind?"

Bella was silent for a long time, cursing him for being so observant. "It's nothing." She could feel his disbelieving eyebrow raising before he even said anything. "I was just going to ask you something."

"I'm listening," Edward said, but Bella shook her head. He chuckled, causing his chest to vibrate. "Bella, you know you can tell me anything."

"I know," Bella said and she could feel the heat come to her face as she blushed at the thought of what she was going to say. She felt him chuckling again, knowing that he could feel her blush, too.

"What is it that's got you so flustered?" Edward asked amusement and curiosity coloring his voice.

Bella buried her head deeper in his chest, unable to look at him as she said this. She mumbled her response, but she knew he would be able to hear her, "I was just wondering if we can ever be together... um physically... when I'm still human."

Edward felt a mixture of feelings at this question. The most powerful one was of satisfaction, though wariness was a close second. The next emotion that gripped him was amusement as he watched her turn a darker shade of red. Obviously she was embarrassed, and he always found her adorable when she was like this.

Bella finally made herself look up at him and was displeased with his amusement. She glared at him and groaned, "Edward!"

"Sorry," Edward said trying to mask his amusement, but finding it difficult.

"No, it's fine, laugh at me!" Bella huffed and then hid her face in his chest again.

Edward, just was barely able to stop himself from chuckling, leaned down to kiss the top of her head before he said, "I can tell you, but you keep saying that you don't want to know what was going to happen in the books."

"Oh," Bella said, and it was true. She had repeatedly told Edward that she wasn't ready to read the rest of the books yet, telling him that she wanted to really get to know him first before she had to worry about whatever it was they were going to face. The biggest problem with this decision was that after Emmett learned this, he would constantly hint at things she was sure where going to happen... never saying anything, but always making her curious.

Bella sat up again, looking at Edward, not letting him deter her this time. "So does that mean that we do?" she questioned enthusiastically.

Edward chuckled, "maybe."

"We do!" Bella said, biting her lips, but she couldn't read the answer on his face, knowing that he would be this amused whether it was true or not. "Come on, Edward, it's a yes or no question... I don't see how that will be affected by me reading the book."

Edward snorted at that; no this would have no effect what-so-ever in her reading the book... it only pertained to the most important event that he was dying to make sure happens. "Be that as it may, I promised you that I wouldn't tell you anything from the book."

Bella made a face. "Please, Edward!"

"Nope, you said no matter how much you beg, not to tell you," Edward chuckled.

"I never said that," Bella argued.

"No... but I could see you meant it," Edward laughed. "So if you want an answer to your question... you're just going to have to read the book."

"Argh," Bella groaned, before she gasped, her face turning bright red before she buried her head in her hands.

"Bella?" Edward said, slightly worried, but not as much as he would have been if she wasn't blushing, he had a feeling what she was going to say next.

"We're going to talk about this in the books," Bella moaned. "Whatever happens, we're going to talk about it."

It wasn't a question; Bella knew she would eventually ask this question, so Edward nodded his head.

"And your family..." Bella groaned, now moving so her head was buried in Edward's chest. It was so embarrassing thinking about Edward's family reading all the intimate details of their relationship... things she was sure she only wanted to share with Edward.

"Yeah," Edward sighed. "Just be glad you didn't have to be there while they read it."

Bella, though she didn't feel any less embarrassed, felt a little better because she knew that Edward really wouldn't want to share moments like that with anyone else... at least they were both embarrassed. "At least it wasn't in your thoughts though..." she felt she had to add.

"True," Edward chuckled.

"I still think this means that something does happen between us," Bella said, trying to get her mind off the unpleasant thoughts that were filling her mind now.

Edward shook with his laughter. "You're not going to drop this, are you?"

"Have you known me to drop anything?" Bella answered smugly.

"Well, I'll tell you that I'm not physically able to do anything of the kind right now," Edward answered.

"So you will, eventually!" Bella said her earlier excitement back.

"Maybe," Edward answered, his eyes twinkling in amusement.

Bella watched Edward closely, trying to see if that meant that he would be able to gain that control over time, or if she was going to have to wait. Edward just looked back at her, his expression was unreadable. "Argh... can't you just answer the question!"

Edward sighed, and he was silent for a while. "Why don't you want to read the books?"

"I don't see why I have to read the books to get the answer to this question," Bella said, avoiding his eyes.

"Perhaps not, but I don't understand why you're still delaying in reading," Edward said. "I've been able to hold you for months, we become closer ever day, and yet you keep waiting... I would have thought your curiosity would have gotten the better of you by now."

Bella bit her lip as she leaned against his shoulder. "I don't see what's so important about reading about a future that's never going to happen when my life is so perfect right now, not knowing."

"I see," Edward said his tone sorrowful. "And are you ever going to want to read the books?"

"I know there's something important in these books that you want me to know about," Bella said. "I know you want me to read the book... but I'm not ready yet Edward."

Edward frowned as he noticed how tense she had gotten. "You're afraid... I told you I will leave..."

Bella flinched at that.

"You know I won't leave you, Bella," Edward said in his most reassuring voice. "Ever!"

"Yes, I know," Bella said, relaxing in his arms, "but I'm starting to understand just how hurt I will be by that... and I don't want to see how I try to handle that... I'm sure I'm going to do something crazy."

"You can say that again," Edward grumbled to himself, but he thought Bella might have heard him. "I told you that it might be harder for you to read this once you can empathize with yourself more..."

"I know," Bella sighed, "but I still think it's better this way," she added as she nuzzled his neck, "as long as you're here, I can handle it."

Edward sighed, and kissed the top of her head again.

"Though I'd still like to wait a little longer," Bella went on. "You said that _New Moon_ didn't start until the beginning of the next semester... there's no rush is there?"

"No," Edward agreed, as he thought of all the issues that were still to come, he thought it was better for him if they waited. He could think of several concerns that she would have with the book. "Get to sleep, Bella, it's getting late."

 **A/N: So I wasn't planning on having the first half of this chapter in the story, nor the part with Rosalie, but I thought it worked out nicely. I especially thought it was important that Rose talk to Bella herself like this, for it should make the two of them closer. The last part with Edward and Bella was something that I thought of a long time before, but I'm not sure if it came out as I had planned. I always thought it would be funny if Bella asked about their physical relationship before she had read the book and I hope it came across that way... All I can say is it's a lot easier just thinking of an idea than it is to write it down. Anyways, the next chapter Bella will be reading** _ **New Moon**_ **.**


	16. Reading New Moon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Sixteen

Reading New Moon

It wasn't until the summer break was almost over that reading the books came up again. Bella was happy to put it off and Edward seemed almost as content. He was apprehensive about some of the things that she would react to. However, something came up two weeks before school was supposed to start that changed everything for him.

He has been noticing it more and more lately, something that has been bothering him, and the more time that passed, it only seemed to get worse. He couldn't quite explain what it was at first, nor where it was coming from, but as time passed he recognized what he was feeling. He was frustrated, which in itself wasn't new, but the reason why he was frustrated was. He had noticed in the last month or so Jacob was growing more and more antagonizing towards him. His thoughts were well guarded, but he could sense the bitterness there. It wasn't all the time so it was hard to find the reason why, though at first he thought Jacob's future pack brothers where finally getting to him and he was starting to distrust the Cullens.

However, Jacob never had bitter thoughts towards Alice. In fact, they seemed to have a nice, though peculiar, friendship. Not to mention the few times that Emmett came over the two seemed to have gotten along very well. He even had to admit that most of the time he liked the kid, though he never fully let his guard down.

As the weeks went on, he had noticed an increase in the bitterness, which just happened to coincide with a rapid growth spurt. He knew then that Jacob was quickly rushing towards his transformation, and he was saddened knowing that being around them caused this to come nearly six months earlier than it would have.

"Hey, Jake," Edward said in an even tone, having a feeling the boy wouldn't want pity at the moment. He had already read in Jacob's mind a certain longing to know what it was like to be a wolf, to feel the super-human power that it would bring him. "How long do you think..."

"There is no time frame in these things," Jacob hissed at him and then pinched the bridge of his nose. "I don't mean to snap... it's just difficult to control my temper right now."

"I can understand that," Edward said, but before he could say anymore Bella came out of her house to join them, carrying sandwiches and cold drinks for Jacob and herself. Edward smiled at her as she walked towards them. She really was a vision to behold.

 _God, she's so beautiful,_ the thought shot through his head like a bullet and Edward turned to glower at Jacob, growling.

This was probably the worst thing he could have done with a boy that was on the edge of turning into a werewolf, for Jacob's instincts seemed to take over and he started to shake violently. Still, Edward couldn't help but react the way he did either... he would not stand here and let the mutt be anywhere near his Bella if he had any kind of feelings for her. He would not stand going through a love triangle like the one they went through in the book that had them all hurting.

"Jake!" Bella said, and Edward heard the tray that she was carrying crash to the ground.

"Stay back!" Jacob hissed through gritted teeth. Edward could hear that he was trying to calm himself down... trying to calm the instincts that were fighting to take over. Edward took a few steps back and placed himself in front of Bella... not close enough so she could touch him, but close enough that he would be able to stop anything that threatened her.

"Edward! What's happening?" Bella asked, her voice full of fear.

 _I've got to control myself... Bella... I can't hurt Bella..._

The thoughts grated against Edward, but he stopped himself from reacting to them, the boy was barely hanging on as it was, he didn't need more reasons to lose control. The boy was right, protecting Bella came first.

"He's about to phase... though he's trying to stop it," Edward said in a low voice to Bella, but he didn't dare say any more for it seemed that his voice only fuelled Jacob's anger.

"Oh, Jake," Bella said miserably, and Edward hoped that she would go inside where she would be safer, but of course she didn't do that. He supposed he had to be thankful that she stayed behind him and didn't try to get closer to the boy that was about to become a monster.

Jacob watched her forlorn expression, watching her closely and though his thoughts weren't coherent at the moment, the meaning behind them was clear. Edward had to stop himself from reacting in any way, but his insides were boiling. Eventually Jacob stopped shaking, he looked rather pleased with himself, and Edward had to admit he didn't think the boy could have stopped, not when he was that close.

"I better go," he said in a stiff voice. "Could you call Sam and tell him what happened... and that I'll be heading to his house."

"Sure, Jake... do you think you'll be okay?" Bella asked, biting her lip and obviously afraid for his safety.

"Yeah... we knew this day would come," Jacob sighed, and his thoughts seemed to be going all over the place when he looked at Edward. Edward couldn't make much sense of it. "I probably won't be around for a while... I'll call you later."

"Okay Jake... I... have... um... see you later," Bella said, clearly not sure what she should say. Jacob raised his hand to her and then ran in the direction of La Push. Bella watched him go, worried about his safety and didn't even notice Edward's eyes on her, searching her reaction. She went inside and called Sam as Jacob had asked, and he thanked her for her help.

"How are you taking this?" Edward questioned, and this time she did notice his intense look.

"I don't know, it all seems to be happening so fast," Bella said in an odd voice, she was confused by his expression. "What is it, Edward?"

Edward just raised an eyebrow, wondering how he should handle this, and he simply said, "You're reading the books now."

"What?" Bella asked looking more confused than ever.

"I've allowed you to stall because I really thought it would be best if we knew each other better before you read about the future... it would help hearing both the good and bad things that happened," Edward said. "But it's been long enough and I refuse to fall into the same trap as I did before..."

"Okay, Edward," Bella said, stepping closer to him and putting a soothing hand on him. "I'll read the books."

How could she not when he was obviously this worked up about something. She looked out towards the back yard, and wondered how big of a part of what had just happened played in Edward's sudden desire to read the books. She wanted to voice her question, but she held back... she was sure the truth would be clear soon enough.

"Do you want to start reading now?" Bella questioned, it was now lunchtime... and it looked like she was going to have to make herself another sandwich... and they had hours before she had to make dinner. However, she had a feeling that she wouldn't be up to much once she started reading this book.

"I think it would be better if you read now," Edward said almost harshly and then he gave her his sheepish grin. "I just don't want you to put this off anymore."

"Fine, I'll go get the books. Could you make me a sandwich, please?" Bella asked and long before she got back downstairs her lunch was all ready for her. She took her time eating, still feeling apprehensive about reading this book... in fact, with Edward's reaction, she was even more nervous. Still, after she finished her lunch she had to admit that the part where she got to sit in Edward's arms on the living room couch was rather nice.

The book started out just as crazy as the last one, with a preface that had her cringing. What was she trying to save Edward from? How could she, as a mere human, be of any help to Edward, an immortal?

"You know, I was hoping that this first chapter would at least start off easy, but it seems like I was mistaken," Bella sighed after she read about the dream that had quickly turned into a nightmare. "Though, I don't think I fear growing older like she does."

"She... is that what you're going to call your book self now?" Edward questioned, his nerves were calming down as she leaned against his chest. She only had a small blanket around her for it was a warm day for Forks.

"It's easier that way," Bella shrugged.

"So you don't fear growing older... you don't dread your coming birthday?" Edward asked, flinching as he thought of what he knew was coming in this book.

"I wouldn't go that far," Bella sighed. "I still don't like the fact that I'm going to be older than you in a few weeks time, but you promised me a forever, so I don't have to worry as much."

"Well, I'm glad you're not worried," Edward smiled, "but something is bothering you."

"It's more of the same... I just know everyone was laughing at my dream when they realized that Gran was... well, you know," Bella sighed, "not to mention I'm worried about what Alice is planning for that occasion... I shudder to think what she would do when she actually has a reason to throw a party."

"Hm..." Edward said, forcing himself not to react to that. It was what he had been worried about for the last few weeks. He was worried that he might be tempting fate if they had Bella's birthday party at their house, but Alice keep insisting it would be fine.

"I suppose I'll just have to wait and see how bad it is," Bella mumbled to herself before she started reading again.

Edward was still thinking of the party that was about to happen, in both the future and in the book, when he suddenly felt Bella tense. He looked down to see that she was reading the part where he so conveniently laid out his suicide plan. Seriously, what was he thinking talking so casually about that to the woman that he knew loved him?

"Edward, you are absolutely not allowed to kill yourself!" Bella shouted, turning to face him. "EVER!"

"Bella..." Edward sighed.

"Promise me that you won't!" Bella said sternly, her voice was firm, her eyes bored into his.

"I can't," Edward said bowing his head.

"Edward," Bella moaned miserably.

"I can't," Edward repeated, "I won't live forever without you... but I'm not ever planning on losing you so this will never come up."

"So if you ever die, you wouldn't mind if I just offed myself?" Bella asked hotly.

"I would mind... and if you're still human at that time, I beg you now not to do that... you could still have a future..." Edward started to say.

"A future without you is no future that I want," Bella said, and then shivered for she remembered that was in a sense what she was about to read. She was going to read about what she would have gone through if he was no longer in her life, if he wasn't her future.

"I know," Edward whispered in her ear soothingly, hugging her tighter to him. "But that's exactly how I feel about you... without you, there is no future..." he added, but he knew if everything worked out as he wanted it to, it would be a lot harder for him to try to die knowing that there was someone else that would depend on him.

Bella carried on reading, resolved to make sure that nothing ever happened to her... a world without Edward in it was a dark and hostile place. She frowned when she got to the party; she really didn't need all the attention that Alice was putting on her. However, she started to really get nervous when she got to the presents, for Edward's whole body seemed to tense and she knew something was going to happen. It confused her at first, why would a party at Edward's house bring on this kind of reaction? However, as she read on, she knew what was going to happen. Sure enough, one of Edward's family members, Jasper to be precise, attacked her.

"Edward," she sighed as she put down the book, having finished that chapter. He was pinching the bridge of his nose, looking more pale than normal.

"It is not any easier reading it a second time," Edward said softly. "Even though I know Jasper would never hurt you," he paused there and looked at Bella with a sincere expression, "you know that right? This will never happen... Jasper will..."

"I know," Bella said, and as he looked in her eyes he didn't see any fear in them. She truly wasn't afraid of something like this happening. She then looked away, and there was an expression of sorrow in her face as she added, "it must have been hard for you to hear this..."

"Hm... you can't imagine," Edward sighed. "Especially since Jasper was the one reading..."

Bella winced at that, feeling worse for the empathic vampire that had to read about his weakness in front of his family... She knew Jasper well enough to know that he wouldn't want that and that was likely some of the reason he was so distant with her in the beginning.

"I would have to say that this was the worst thing that could have ever happened short of you actually getting hurt seriously," Edward said, snapping Bella out of her thoughts. "It was my family, my brother that was the danger to you... it was something that I didn't want to fight..."

"I'm sorry," Bella said leaning against him.

"It's not your fault," Edward sighed, kissing the top of her head.

"Doesn't mean that I can't be sorry about it," Bella sighed, and then she picked up the book again. Now that she was finally reading, she wanted to know what happened next.

"Do you really believe you don't have a soul?" Bella questioned, once again turning to look at him, this time her expression was incredulous.

"You convince me more every day that I am wrong about that," Edward smiled at her. "But yes, before I got these books, I believed we didn't have a soul."

"But your soul is beautiful," Bella said still astounded that he wouldn't know that.

"Beautiful," Edward repeated he wasn't so sure about that. There were a lot of things he had done in the past that marred his soul.

"Edward," Bella rolled her eyes as if she could read his mind, but went with another tack, describing all the reasons why he had a good soul. "Do you really believe that Carlisle has no soul after everything he has done... or Esme... I can't see how you would ever believe that they..."

Bella trailed off there for Edward was chuckling.

"It's not funny, Edward!" Bella huffed.

"Do you know in all of the years that I have been arguing this with Carlisle, he never thought to bring that up?" Edward continued to chuckle, "of course I realized that his soul was in question too, but we had always seemed to talk about my own... but you're right, it's hard to believe that there isn't more for him after all the good he has done in his long life."

Bella was still looking at him with narrowed eyes. He seemed to still be underestimating his own goodness, but she didn't really have time to argue with him. She started to read again, but almost immediately she had things she wanted to make comments on. Like, were his eyes really green when he was human? It was strange that she had never wondered what they had looked like before this, and now all she could think about were piercing green eyes looking at her.

"Did you ever regret what your mom did for you?" she asked, though she was silently thanking Elizabeth Masen for saving her son, for Bella couldn't image what she would do without Edward.

"That's difficult to answer," Edward said thoughtfully. "Before you came... well, my existence was just that... an existence. Now that you're here, I finally have a life. However, even before, I don't believe I regret becoming what I am..."

Bella nodded her head and then started to read again. She didn't say much for the rest of the chapter, though she did grumble when Edward brought up Mike. She knew full well that she would never like Mike that way, and she thought it was ridiculous that Edward thought she could. She was touched by the gift that he gave her, and said that she would love it if he did give her a CD like that.

At the end of the chapter however, she shivered, she didn't like that he was thinking about right and wrong, or more specifically about leaving her when he was holding her. She also didn't like the kiss that was rushed and made it seem like he was never going to kiss her again. She had never been kissed like that, and she prayed that she never would be.

She didn't even pause before going on to the next chapter, and as she read the title, her heart contracted painfully. She knew it was coming, he had warned her, but she couldn't help but feel the pain the words 'The End' caused her.

"It's never going to happen," Edward whispered in her ear and she was able to breathe again.

She continued to read and the farther she got the more she frowned, she looked at Edward with a raised eyebrow. "Why are you prolonging this so much... it's going to be bad enough when you leave..."

Edward winced at the words. "I don't know..."

"I had time to think of the worst thing I could live through..." Bella frowned, and she didn't add that she knew it was going to be worse than that. Edward was beating himself up enough already and she really didn't want to make him more upset than he was right now.

"I'm sorry," Edward said. "I can't really say what I was thinking... but I knew it would be near impossible for me to leave..."

"But you're going to," Bella said in a distant voice. "Or he is at least..."

"True," Edward sighed.

Bella couldn't stand dragging this out any longer than it had to be, so she continued to read. When she read the actual break up, she felt her heart break a little in two. It took her a longer time to process the words for she kept on imaging Edward's voice saying those things to her. Though, she couldn't get his voice to sound like him in her head.

"How could I believe that?" Bella questioned, looking angrily at the book. Her voice was thick with the tears she wanted to shed.

"Believe what?" Edward questioned.

"That you didn't care about me... that this was just some kind of fling?" Bella said. "You just told me a few days ago that you would kill yourself if you had to live without me."

"Hm..." Edward said, almost smirking at his question. "I didn't think I would be on this side of the argument... I was actually hoping to hear what you thought about this."

"Well, I can't help you there, because I wouldn't let you leave that easily," Bella said confidently.

"I won't want to leave," Edward smiled at her.

Bella's next question, however, wiped the smile off of his face. "Why are you making light of our relationship anyway? Why couldn't you just tell me that you were leaving to try to protect me?"

"I thought you would be able to get over me easier if you believed that I didn't love you," Edward flinched when he said those words and Bella copied him when she heard it. "That you would believe that nothing was going happen in the future. If you knew that I still loved you and was just trying to protect you from myself, my family and my kind, you would never be able to let me go."

"At least in that scenario I would know that you loved me," Bella frowned. "That I didn't have to believe that I had deluded myself into believing that you loved me... I would know that you cared."

Edward sighed, perhaps it would have been healthier if he had done that, not that it mattered now, he was never going to leave. He rested his head against her cheek and whispered, "Would you have tried to move on... find a future with a normal man... if I had said that?"

"There is no moving on... no matter what you say, I don't think I could move on, Edward," Bella shook her head. "You're in all of my thoughts... my dreams... you're my future... if that suddenly just disappeared..." her voice broke as she said this and she shook her head. She knew it would be hard for her to just breathe without him there.

They just sat there not saying anything for a few minutes, but Bella forced herself to start to read again. Like ripping off a bandage, she thought it would hurt less if she got it over with quickly. She wasn't sure if that was true, for it hurt a lot to continue to read. Hearing him promise that it would be as if he never existed sent a chill down her spine.

"You shouldn't have said that," she mumbled, and he seemed to know what she was talking about. "I need to remember you, Edward... if you just disappear... I'm not sure if I could believe that you were ever real in the first place."

"I sorry," Edward groaned, "I didn't know what to say... I didn't know how to act. Usually when we leave our home, we make sure that there is no evidence of us, that way in time they would forget about us altogether..."

"I don't think it's the same with a girlfriend who knows what you are," Bella said almost coldly.

"I'm sorry," Edward bowed his head and she leaned back into his chest.

"It's okay," Bella sighed and started reading again. She was hurt, but not surprised when the rest of Edward's family left too. She knew they must, but it didn't make it easier to hear. She groaned when her book self ran after Edward in the woods. She knew that was a stupid thing to do, but she couldn't blame her for doing that. If Edward had promised to disappear she would do anything to keep that from happening.

She was shocked when she was found by the wolves, or more specifically Sam, and even more when she heard there were three of them there.

"I thought that I become friends with Jacob before he turns into a werewolf?" Bella said, looking at Edward questioningly.

"You did?" Edward's looked mirrored hers before he looked at the book. "Oh... you mean that. No, the third werewolf wasn't Jacob... it's a kid named Paul."

"So you mean more werewolves are going to transform?" Bella sighed, she didn't know who this Paul guy was, but she felt sorry for him."

"He'll probably be going through his transformation soon." Edward frowned, which just caused Bella to sigh, before she read more.

Bella couldn't help but feel embarrassed and yet grateful for the concern that Charlie was showing her. It was nice knowing how much he loved her, and she made up her mind that she would make something nice for him for dinner tonight.

However, she didn't know if she could manage that as the end of the chapter seemed to send her off in despair. How could he just take her possessions like that? She wanted to remember him, why wasn't she allowed to remember him? And even if she couldn't stand to look at the picture, he should have left it to her to deal with that... she was capable of hiding them on her own.

Though it was the last words, _that she was drowning and she didn't resurface_ that sent a chill down her spine. They were now getting to the part that she was most afraid of reading. The part without Edward… the part where she tried to survive without her heart.

 **A/N: So I didn't get as far as I thought I would in this chapter... sorry, but for some reason I just couldn't sit down and write this whole chapter. However, don't worry; I'm not going to make it four weeks in a row that you have to read the books. I'm going to post the rest of** _ **New Moon,**_ **no matter how long it is, on Tuesday and then I'll post** _ **Eclipse**_ **on Friday like normal.**


	17. Reading New Moon Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Seventeen

Reading New Moon Part Two

"Bella, love, are you okay?" Edward asked, for Bella hadn't moved for the last five minutes.

"I'm afraid..." Bella admitted in a soft voice.

"I know," Edward kissed the top of her head and then looked over at the clock. "Your dad will be home in a few hours anyways... why don't you make dinner... try to relax..."

"I don't know if that's possible," Bella sighed, "but you're right, maybe I won't look like a wreck by the time Charlie gets home if I stop now."

"I'll make sure you don't," Edward said softly, and then leaned so his head was next to her, she could feel his cool lips inches away from her and she turned to kiss him. Her heart raced and all thoughts of the book left her as long as Edward's lip was on hers. Though he pulled away soon after that a smug smile on his face, he had done enough to allow her to do what she must.

She made beef stroganoff, knowing that Charlie liked it. She hadn't forgotten the care her dad had shown her in the book already and she wanted to do something nice for him. When Charlie came home he smiled at the smell that filled the house and seemed to be in good enough mood to have a rather chatty dinner for the two of them (for Edward had chosen to wait in Bella's room).

When Bella got back up to her room she was in a much better mood than she was earlier this afternoon, she was able to convince herself that it didn't really matter how bad she got in this book, because it would never happen in this reality. She was going to have a glimpse of what her life would be liked without Edward in it and that was terrifying but she was never going to have to actually live through that so it was okay.

"Feeling better," Edward observed immediately, his smiled seemed to be more genuine than it was earlier.

"Yes," Bella said and soon after that she was sitting in her bed with Edward's arms around her and the book was in front of her. She sighed before opening and then frowned when she saw there was only one word on the page. _October._

She flipped the page... _November_.

She flipped another page and groaned... _December._

And the next... _January._

"I didn't do anything... anything at all for months!" Bella said in a slightly panicked voice. She could feel Edward's arm tighten around her, it must have been hard for him to read that the first time, but she wasn't thinking of only Edward's reactions. She had just seen today how much even the small things seemed to make her dad happy... she worried about how hard it would be on him if she did nothing for days... weeks... months. She shivered but then force herself to read on.

It didn't make her feel any better, she was right to worry, it was clear that Charlie was going beyond worried about her if he'd suggest that she go back to her mom. Of course she didn't talk about this with him, but she knew that he liked having her here and that it would have to be drastic for him to want her to go away.

She didn't care much that she hadn't really spoken to her friends during the time that Edward was gone... It didn't make her feel that guilty, besides the fact that she knew that she must have made Angela worry. However, discovering that she had become a zombie was disturbing, though again, it didn't bother her as much as her book self... after all she knew it was never going to happen.

However, something did catch her attention in this chapter. Her head snapped towards Edward as soon as she read the characteristics of the voice.

"It's your voice... are you there?" Bella said hopefully, but knowing it wasn't that when she noticed Edward amused and yet annoyed expression. Neither of those expressions would have been present if he was really there.

"Nope," Edward said, amusement was winning now as Bella realized what was happening than.

"I'm hearing voices," Bella groaned.

Edward chuckled at that, "only one."

"Well that makes me feel better," Bella grumbled, but she leaned back into Edward's chest. Somehow, though it was kind of embarrassing it was nice to know that her book self could still hear Edward, even if it was just a figment of her imagination. "Is this how you really would have reacted if you were there?"

"Yes, for the most part you get my reactions down well," Edward chuckled.

"So I'm going to hear your voice more in this book," Bella said, curious how that was going to work. Bella then started to read and listened to the reason why her book self thought that she would hear the voice. She frowned; neither reason seemed to be good enough for her.

"Of course you would be bothered," Bella muttered to herself, but of course Edward heard.

"You're under the impression that I don't," Edward sighed, it was so difficult hearing she believe that with certainty in these books. How could he ever not love her?

"Well, then, I am crazy," Bella grumbled.

"Well, maybe..." Edward agreed with a smile, though it didn't touch his eyes.

"Jerk!" Bella huffed, trying to keep her own eyes playful. "But I think that I can hear your voice because I know that you don't want me to be hurt... subconsciously I know what it would do to you if I was ever hurt."

"Maybe," Edward said, smiling more genuinely.

Bella smiled now, knowing this was all hurting him as much it was hurting her, so she quickly went back to reading. She finished the rest of the chapter as quickly as she could, knowing that it wasn't quick enough for him not to read about the pain she was in too. She tried to stop herself from cringing at the pain she felt, taking relief that with his cold arms around her waist it prevented her from empathizing too much with her book self. He was never going to leave her!

The title of the next chapter bothered her, she knew it couldn't mean what it sounded like, there was no way that she would cheat on him even if he wasn't there, he was still the only one that she would ever want. So what did it mean?

She felt it was odd that the book mentioned the hikers and the bear... a giant mutant bear if the hikers were to be believed... but she didn't put much into that as she continued to read. She had to stop herself from cringing again when her dreams was mentioned and along with it the pain that they caused her. _I won't go through this,_ she keep reminding herself, _and Edward doesn't need to know how much this is affecting me._

"I'm sorry," Edward whispered when Bella couldn't stop the shiver that the description of her clenching her sides caused.

"Edward... are you sure you want to be here?" Bella whispered to him, she didn't like the look in his eyes at the moment. He was guilty and sad. Guilty for the pain he will never cause her and the pain that he was putting her through now.

"Yes," Edward said, his eyes lighting when he looked at hers. He knew he had to control himself better from now on; he couldn't let her know how much this had affected him. She needed him and he wasn't going to leave her... not even if it was just to read these books... he was not going to leave her.

Bella sighed and then continued reading.

"Motorcycles!" Bella exclaimed. She had called motorcycles kismet... she really had gone insane. "What am I thinking?!"

"Don't ask me," Edward said, amused by her reaction. "I take this means you don't want to get a motorcycle now."

"Are you kidding me, I much too afraid to do that," Bella said shaking her head. "Besides, I could just ride you if I wanted the feel of flying..." she stopped there, his smiled made her blush, and she realized how her words could have been taken. "You know what I mean..." she mumbled still blushing, which caused him to laughed. "Jerk."

"Sorry," Edward said, still chuckling. "And I'm glad to hear that you don't want to ride those _bikes_."

Bella continued to read after that, and was kind of happy when she found out that she was going to go to Jacob, if there was someone that would keep her from returning back to being a zombie, it was Jacob. However, she wasn't blind to the fact that Edward was tense again, and it was clear he didn't like her (the Bella in the room) enthusiasm about reading about her friend. She knew why immediately of course, it was clear the Jacob in the book liked her more than just in a friendly way. She sighed, she could tell just by this chapter that this was going to be a reoccurring theme and she was afraid what was going to come of it.

She moved on to the next chapter and she didn't know exactly how to feel. She did like hearing about her friend, and most of the time the relationship between her book self and Jacob was the way she felt. However, she cringed whenever it was mentioned that Jacob had feelings towards her now. She tried to think of Jacob every acting that way to her in the reality they were now living in. She couldn't, he had always just been a friend to her... he never said or did anything that made her think that he might like her more than just a friend.

However, when she looked at Edward she wasn't sure if that was completely true. Was it more than Jacob's near transformation earlier today – the thought made her shiver as she wondered if he really was a werewolf now or not – that prompted Edward to want her to read about the future.

"Edward? Bella asked, she had just finished reading about her hysterical laughter with Jacob as they were about to have a party with the Clearwaters, Billy and Charlie.

"Yeah?" Edward said, looking confused, obviously he couldn't see what she would have to bring up at that particular spot.

"Why did you want me to read this book so urgently today?" Bella questioned. "What are you afraid of happening?"

Edward sighed, and brought his hand up to pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Are you... jealous?" Bella questioned, the word sounded odd coming out of her mouth. As far as she was concern there was no reason for Edward to be jealous.

"Hm..." Edward said halfway between a groan and thoughtful. "I don't know if jealous is the right word... I'm not sure what word I could use. All I know is that I don't want this to happen... anything in this book and the next to happen, so I needed you to know this."

"So this does have something to do with Jacob... um... liking me? Liking me that way... right now... in our life?" Bella said, again feeling odd, it just didn't seem right to her.

"Yes," Edward confirmed and then tacked on grudgingly, "though to be completely truthful... all I really know is that he thinks you're beautiful."

Bella blushed uncomfortable at that. It was odd to think that anyone but Edward thought of her that way, and she didn't want Jacob to. What would it do to their friendship if he liked her like that; could they really be friends if that was the case?

"Just keep reading Bella," Edward sighed and Bella did as he said her mind still on this matter.

"The bear again?" Bella raised an eyebrow, she didn't like that it was being mentioned so much. "Tell me it's not really a werewolf, Edward."

"Sorry... I can't," Edward sighed.

"Why are they being sighted?" Bella mused to herself, as far as she knew now, Sam and Jared patrolled the forest around La Push and whichever else land they could look over that didn't intersect with the treaty with the Cullens. They had never been sighted in the months that she had known about them, why would they be sighted now?

She finished the chapter feeling a little sad that she had indeed cause Angela to worry about her like she thought, but it didn't make her pause to carry on to the next chapter. She didn't like how it started. She didn't want to think about the Cullens' house without them in it... didn't want to think of them just disappearing and never being there. It really wasn't a good idea that she had gone there.

It was just as disturbing the way that she ran back to Jacob. The relationship she had with that Jacob wasn't exactly healthy. She could tell the fact that she had constantly been seeing him, that she would see him everyday... smiling and happy to be around him was only encouraging him to like her. She felt horrible that her book self didn't stop doing that knowing that Jacob was only going to be hurt by this in the end. And surely it hurt Edward to have to read about this.

"I shouldn't have gone to him like that," Bella groaned.

"Don't say that," Edward said, "you didn't have a choice... it was the only way for you to deal with your pain."

"And that makes it okay," Bella moaned, how could she be that selfish. How could she hurt her friend, just so she wouldn't have to hurt as much? It wasn't right.

"No, but I'm sure Jacob would prefer it to seeing you in pain," Edward said, not adding that he felt the same way, but she knew he meant that, too.

"It still doesn't make it right," Bella groaned; there was nothing Edward could say that would make this okay. She was using her friend again and it wasn't fair to him.

She could still see similarities between the friendship she had with Jacob at times. She certainly did feel like she could be more like a kid when Jacob was around… not quite as irresponsible as her book self, but not quite as mature as she was most of the time. And she was almost happy at the part where he opened up to her and told her about the ' _cult_ '. It felt like something that Jacob would do now.

However, two things about this disturbed her:

"Embry is going to be a werewolf, too," Bella groaned she had seen Embry (and Quil) a few more times when she had visited Jacob and she hated to think of the boy going through all this, too.

"Yes... and he won't be the last," Edward sighed.

"I don't like the sound of that," Bella groaned but she didn't ask who else would be turned. The other thing that disturbed her was that her book self knew that Jacob wanted more than friendship and she still didn't do anything to keep him away... tell him that she wasn't available.

She went on to the next chapter, and didn't like the fact that she really was going to be riding the bikes. She was stunned at first that she was hearing Edward's voice again, but she knew she shouldn't have been surprised. She knew it wasn't repetition that made the voice come as her book self seemed to think, but it was danger. Edward spoke to her when she was in danger and the motorcycle was very dangerous for her.

That was proven a few sentences later when she had crashed. She hated that she took her injury so lightly, that she didn't even care that Jacob was worried about her, that all she wanted was to hear Edward's voice again. She didn't like what her book self was doing... and danger she was in... how it caused her whole world to crumble. She'd already known that she couldn't survive without Edward, but she wouldn't have imagined any of this would have happened. Before reading this she tried her hardest never to think about this and now that she was reading it she was trying to remind herself that it would never happen. She was never going to feel this empty... she was never going to feel the need to cling to Jacob so much... she wasn't going to hurt Jacob and Edward like that.

She sighed when she read about her attempts at to going to the meadow. It was a disaster waiting to happen. She knew the meadow was a magic place for her, and it will always be that way, but that was because Edward was there. He was what made it magical.

The next chapter had her feeling uncomfortable again. What was it supposed to mean by third wheel? Oh great, it meant a date with not only Jacob but Mike, too.

She didn't like that she couldn't put some distance to between herself and Jacob, she didn't like that she had allowed Mike to think that it was a date for a few seconds and she really didn't like that she had called Jacob a kid just to appease Mike. What was she doing? Why did she have to be so nice?

Then Mike was gone, sick in the bathroom and Jacob was confessing his feeling to her. She was trying to turn him down, Bella was happy that her book self was at least trying, but it wasn't enough. Jacob was too stubborn and she needed him too much to do the right thing.

Before she knew it, she stopped carrying about her actions, for she could tell what was happening to her friend. He was a werewolf now! How was that going to affect their relationship in the book?

The next chapter showed that it wasn't going to be a pleasant change. He was going to avoid her. She knew from experience that it would be hard not to talk to him for an extended period of time, she remembered the month where she had barely said a word to him because of the Quileutes reaction to Jacob knowing about the Cullens, and she knew it would be worse for her book self. She was definitely not handling being alone well.

She hated that she was going to the woods alone, trying to find the meadow in hopes to hear Edwards voice. She hated to hear about the predictable pain she had when she got there. But, that was nothing to what she felt when someone was at the meadow too.

"Who is it?" Bella said, unable to keep the question from coming, for she knew it couldn't be a normal hiker and it wasn't any of the Cullens.

"Laurent," Edward said, his voice was stiff.

Bella swallowed, Edward had said that he had killed Victoria and James in this reality, and that she didn't have to be afraid of them anymore. However, Laurent was still alive and as far as she knew still at Tanya's place in Alaska.

"He won't hurt you, Bella," Edward said, seeming to see how worried she was.

Bella nodded her head and continued reading. When she got to the part about cheating, she looked back at Edward. "He's going to try and kill..."

Edward hissed at this, his body was tensing now, she hadn't felt him react to anything in the last chapters, she was sure that was because he didn't want to affect her, but he was tense now.

"This is just making me want to go to Alaska and rip his head off," Edward said through gritted teeth. "I can't believe that I let him live... what if..."

"Edward," Bella said, finding it odd that she could switch sides on her argument so quickly. "Have you spoken to Tanya and Irina recently?"

"Yes," Edward sighed, "and they said that Laurent was progressing... obviously it was Tanya that said this. She was convinced that Laurent's eyes were turning amber now."

"What's the matter?" Bella questioned.

"They should already have been golden," Edward said, "he had enough time for them to go all the way... he's still slipping... cheating..."

"Edward, not everyone's perfect," Bella sighed, trying not to think of what slipping and cheating meant. "And it's has to be hard for someone to give up something like that..." she trailed off for she had no idea what it was like for vampires to drink blood... and how much a difference it is to hunt animals instead of humans.

"I know," Edward sighed. "I just... reading this makes me think of what might happen... and I can't stand that."

"I know, Edward," Bella said, "but this won't happen."

"Okay," Edward said, allowing Bella to read more.

Bella sighed in relief when the wolves showed up and snorted when she heard her thoughts of them. Not the part where she worried if they could handle Laurent or not, for she wasn't sure how strong the wolves were, but she knew how strong Vampires were. Edward assured her that they would have no trouble whatsoever when they were outnumbering Laurent like they were. No, what she was snorting at was her thoughts of the wolves turning on her. Of how she looked at the one wolf and thought of Jacob. She didn't have to ask Edward for confirmation; she knew it had to be him.

She was now curious to see the wolves up close, she had only heard the story and she thought it would be interesting to see if they were really as terrifying as the book made them seem to be. She read the rest of the chapter, understand the panic that her book self would be in. Meeting a vampire that wanted to kill her... hearing about another vampire, one that though her book self was more worried about (and she would have been more worried about too if she knew that the wild woman wasn't already died), was after her too. That there were giant wolves that for all her book self knew was after her. Yes, she could understand her book self's panic, but she couldn't empathize with it.

She, however, didn't like reading the part where she involved her dad, causing him to share in her fear. She knew it was right that she did this, for all she knew in the book the wolves were dangerous, but she still wished that Charlie didn't have to be involved at all.

The next chapter was hard to read. Again she didn't like how she was dealing with Jacob, how dependent she was on him. The first half of the chapter was fine to her. Of course she would confront anything to help her friend out. For her book self point of view Jacob was in danger and she was going to try to save him. It wasn't going to work so she was already worried about what was going on. She was shocked to see how much he changed after he turned. She was sort of afraid whether the Jacob that she has been friends with would change that much too. Would he be that bitter?

"Do you think Jake will be like this?" Bella asked Edward after she read his description in the book.

"Well, physically I would think, yes," Edward said, "mentally I can't say what will happen. Jacob knows what he is going to become... he has had months to prepare himself for this. I think that can only help him. As for the way he's acting right now..."

"I haven't got that far yet," Bella stalled him.

"Well," Edward said, sighing, "then I'll just say don't judge him too harshly."

Bella raised an eyebrow at him. "You're trying to defend Jacob... when you were so jealous just a moment ago that you practically forced me to read this book."

"I said it wasn't exactly jealousy," Edward mumbled, looking amused and annoyed all at once. "And I owe a lot to the book Jacob... as you can see he's already saved you once, not to mention for all he did to keep you from falling apart completely... I know you think you were using him, and were being selfish, but that doesn't mean I can't still be grateful for what he did."

"Even when he was trying to steal your girl from you," Bella said.

"Bella," Edward said dramatically, "don't you understand me at all..."

Bella shook her head at his reaction, but she thought she knew what his reasoning was.

"I want you to be happy Bella... I couldn't stand the way months flew by and you didn't do anything, I didn't like that you felt like you had a hole in your chest and it ached whenever you thought about me," he said, his face showing his feelings for the first time while reading this book. "I don't like seeing the small phantom of pain you're feeling while reading this book... and I'm sorry that I force you to read this.

"I don't want anything like this to ever happen, but that doesn't mean I can't be grateful that Jacob helped you. And at the same time want to rip the mutt's head off," he added chuckling.

"Edward!" Bella chastised.

"Sorry... but it's true," Edward said. "You should talk to Jasper about it... he can tell you how bad I was."

"I'll do that," Bella said, reading the book again.

The fight she had with Jacob made her cringe, not about anything Jacob said of course, he was just trying to protect her and his people's secret. She didn't like what she said in the book, though. How could she say that they were breaking up when they weren't going out? How could she have called their relationship greater than any school yard romance? It might be true... but you really shouldn't think of a friendship like that. She also hated that she was so hurt by Jacob's words that she felt another hole in her chest...

She hated seeing the pain she put Charlie though too, but couldn't help but smile at how much he looked after her. Calling Billy and trying to defend her like he had. Hm, she was going to have to think of another way to show her appreciation to her dad tomorrow...

"It's getting late, Bella," Edward said as she was about ready to start the next chapter. "And I think this is a good stopping place."

"What, you mean were I'm in pain and there's someone trying to get into my house?" Bella exclaimed.

"Yep," Edward chuckled and then adding, "honestly it's just Jake."

"Fine," Bella sighed, and she didn't really mind that much, she wanted to think all this through. She wonder what she was going to do with this whole Jacob thing, wondering if he really did like her now too, and knowing that she couldn't act as she did in the book. Would it be enough for Jake to see that she was happy with Edward?

She drifted off to a sleep as she mused about this, her dreams filled with empty forest and eery lights. Then she would see Jacob's changed face glaring at her, hostility in his eyes. That didn't last long though, it seemed like all at once everything started to get better and she was sleeping soundly.

Edward on the other hand had been whispering things to her as he heard her nervous mutterings. He hoped he was helping, that she knew even in her dreams that he was there for her, and was rewarded when she relaxed in his arms and snuggled closer to him.

The next morning Bella woke up early, and barely twenty minutes later she was reading again.

The next chapter was read though quickly, it was mostly saying things that she had realized long ago, though the ending where she thought the wolves were killers was different. She quickly moved on to the next chapter and almost laughed out loud with the misunderstanding she and Jacob had. Though her book self had brought up a good question.

"Do you still think I would have fallen in love with you if you killed people?" Bella asked looking at him curiously, she couldn't imagine not loving the man whose arms she was sitting in.

"No, we never would have been able to get this close if that was the case," Edward said.

"Edward, you know I wasn't talking about whether or not you were able to be close to me," Bella said.

"So you mean if I could be around you like I am now, but I would go off and hunt a few humans ever couple of weeks," Edward said and the way he said it made Bella shivered. "No... I wouldn't be me if I did that... part of the reason you love me is routed in the fact that I'm trying to be better than the monster that I am..."

"That you are better than the monster you think you are," Bella corrected.

"My point exactly," Edward smiled. "You can't take that fact away without changing everything I am. Unless you're saying that you only like me because I look good..."

"Well, you are pretty damn hot," Bella said smirking this time.

"Um... and here I always thought I was cold," Edward said with a puzzled expression.

Bella rolled her eyes but kissed him before she read on.

The next chapter was familiar to her again, she had been around Sam, Emily and Jared enough to already have gained all of the observation that her book self had.

When she got to the next chapter she couldn't help but tense up. She could feel that her cliff diving idea wasn't good. The closer she got to it... the desperate way that she went to the cliff... the more she felt like this was a horrible idea. The argument with Edward before she jumped really made her shudder, she could hear how he would try to plead with her, try to keep her safe... but it wouldn't be enough.

"I'm sorry," Bella said putting the book down after she finished that chapter, curling up in Edward's arms. He was rather happy that she did that, because he did feel the need to hold her like this. Her words, the need she had to be near him, the struggle that she went through, all it made him feel like his heart was breaking.

"I'm sorry," Edward repeated the words back at her. They stayed like that for a while, feeling no need to rush to read more of the book. Bella did pick up the book again though, reading on, knowing already that she had to have been rescued from the water for there was so much left of the book to read. Of course it was Jacob who had saved her, he was always the one that saved her, now. She hoped that wouldn't be the case for long though, for she wanted her real hero... her angel to be the one that came to her rescue in the future.

Bella didn't like this chapter at all, she didn't like when Harry was mention, knowing he wasn't going to make it. She didn't like when she was reminded how hard Charlie would have taken it if she had died as well... She knew it wouldn't be as bad as Edward would have, but Charlie wouldn't have recovered from her death... not ever.

She didn't like that she was thinking about Paris, not as in the city in France as she hoped it would be, but as the character in Romeo and Juliet. Argh, how could she honestly even try to consider trying to settle down with anyone that wasn't Edward? How could she let Jacob get stuck with a person that would always love another man more than him? It just wasn't right.

"Why am I thinking this?" Bella demanded of Edward.

"Bella, you know I'm the one that should be confused about this," Edward said. "I don't know what you're thinking... well except for the fact that the book is telling us what you are thinking..."

"It's all wrong," Bella grumbled. "Even thinking that I could be happy with Jacob..."

"I don't know if that is entirely wrong," Edward argued and Bella glared at him, "I'm merely pointing out that this book is proof that you can be marginally happy with him..."

"Yeah, as long as I'm running after my delusions of you!" Bella huffed. "Who knows how I would react with him after I stop trying to hear your voice... and that's the only clear thing my book self said in this chapter... that I had to stop putting myself in danger..."

"True," Edward said, snapping Bella from her rant.

"Edward, I don't know what would happen to me if I no longer tried to remember you," Bella said.

"No, we don't," Edward agreed with that. "But Bella, at this point what choice do you have but try to be happy with Jacob... I could never blame you for..."

"Stop that Edward, it hurts to hear you say that," Bella said.

"I'm sorry," Edward said pulling her closer to him.

"It's wrong to be with him like this too, even if I learn to love him... it would never be enough," Bella continued. "He deserves someone that could love him with her full heart, not with whatever pieces she has left."

"You can't choose who you love, Bella," Edward sighed, sadly.

"Hm..." Bella said thoughtfully and she wasn't quite sure what Edward meant by that and chose not to ask him. She continued reading and was smiling by the time she got to the end of the chapter. A vampire... or more importantly a Cullen... was at her house. She knew who she wanted it to be, but was sure she was wrong... still why would any of them be at her house when Edward had told them to stay away from her?

"It's Alice," Bella said, as she started the next chapter and then read on until she gasped, "She can't see the werewolves! I didn't know that!"

"Sorry... I didn't think of it," Edward chuckled.

"She thought I was dead... that must have been so hard on her," Bella groaned as she comprehended what that meant. Edward didn't say anything, knowing that Bella was right, but also knowing what was going to happen when he thought she was dead. Bella wasn't going to be too pleased with him then.

Bella curled more securely into Edward as she listened to when Charlie explained that he had seen all of the pain that she had gone through. How much he seemed to know her. And then she listened to Alice explain about her family. She could tell that Alice didn't really want to talk about it, but she had to ask Edward if she had tried to find out more about her family.

"No," Edward frowned, "I don't think she really wants to know more about them right now..."

"That's kind of sad," Bella sighed.

"Yes," Edward said sadly, "but at least she has us, we're her family."

"That's right," Bella smiled before reading more.

She didn't really like the stiffness that was in her relationship with Jacob, she hoped that Jacob would never get that bitter about the Cullens... that he wouldn't learn to hate them when he transformed. She didn't think that was going to happen, he would still be Jacob after he changed after all, but he might look at things different when he was actually a werewolf.

And then she was back to almost kissing Jacob... what the hell was that about. Alice was back... things were going to get better. She knew that they had to. Alice would tell Edward that she was broken without him and he would come back. Why the hell couldn't she just take a breath for ten minutes and think this all through? Why did she have to be so damn blind about how Edward felt about her?

And then the phone rang and everything was happening in a flash. Alice was back, she was telling her they had to leave... she was panicking and Bella felt her heart start to race as she realized what must have been happening. And then Alice said it.

"Edward!" Bella said in shock, but there was pain and anger in her voice too. "What are you doing?"

"I'm watching you read a book," Edward tried to sound innocent.

"You're going to Italy to get yourself killed!" Bella corrected and the preface came to her mind and she knew what it meant now. She was going to have to run and save Edward from that danger.

"Bella, don't look at me like that," Edward sighed, bowing his head. "My book self had just learned that he lost the only thing in the world that really mattered... Not only that, but he thinks that you had jumped of the cliff to kill yourself... what other options did he have..."

"Hmph," Bella huffed, but she couldn't think of anything to say about that. "Does it matter that I would never want you to die..."

"It wouldn't change my mind," Edward sighed, "but I'm never going to lose you so it's not important."

"Not important," Bella groaned and then continued to read to see how much it didn't matter that he was going to this Volturi, whoever they were, to kill himself.

She couldn't help but be very anxious about what was coming; there was no complete grantee that Edward would be safe. She felt there wouldn't be a need for two more books if anything happened to him, but she couldn't be sure. She read the next chapter so fast that she didn't even pay much attention to what was being said, she just wanted to get to the part where she would see Edward again. She did note that Alice had agreed to make her a vampire even if Edward didn't approve, and that Alice was afraid of the Volturi... whoever they were, they were enough to cause Alice – and the rest of the Cullens – to be afraid. This of course only made her nerves worse; she didn't even notice that the car that Alice was driving in this chapter was the one that Alice now owned.

"It looks like Jasper owes Emmett a new motorcycle," Edward sighed.

"What?" Bella said turning the page to the next chapter.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to disturb you," Edward smiled.

"Sure you didn't, if you didn't want me to hear that you would have just thought it," Bella pointed out.

"True," Edward chuckled, and hoped he was calming some of the nerves she had, but he couldn't be sure if it was working at all. "Emmett just bet that you wouldn't have noticed what car Alice was driving at the end of this chapter... I don't know why Jasper took that bet, you are utterly hopeless when it comes to cars... but whatever."

"Okay," Bella said confused, "why should I have noticed Alice's car in the chapter?"

"It's the one that she's driving around now," Edward shrugged his shoulders. "Alice's won it off of Emmett... so I suppose it's only fair that he gets a vehicle out of his bet too."

"Um... okay," Bella said, not really following everything Edward said and not really wanting to. She just started reading the next chapter. It was so much agony wondering if she was going to make it there in time or not. Why couldn't the stupid author just get to the point already? Would she get to Edward on time?

"YES!" Bella cheered when she crushed into Edward, trying to keep him out of the sun. Edward smiled at her enthusiasm, and then how she just kept reading, her eyes moving quickly across the page to see what happened next. She looked up at him with a questioned in her eyes, "you think you're dead."

"I think you are dead, it's only logical I would think I was too when I saw you," Edward smiled.

"But I thought you didn't believe in the afterlife for your kind," Bella pointed out, she felt extremely upbeat now that her book self was with Edward again. Everything was going to go back to the way they were supposed (though she knew it couldn't be quite that easily, her book self had scars now, but it was going to be okay as long as he was there).

"I didn't then," Edward said. "And I'm not sure what I think anymore, all I know is that whatever life I have, I want you in it."

"That line was so corny," Bella said, her face beat red and her heart was beating a mile a minute.

"Hm... I don't think that's how you really feel," Edward observed before he pressed his lip briefly against hers. Bella heart skipped a beat and he pulled back smiling smugly at her.

Bella started reading again, and her relief was starting to waver when the robed figures came into the picture. She could guess who they were, or at least who they represented, and she didn't like that. Nor did she like the fact that they wanted to see Edward (and her) and that Edward was so against that. What was going to happen to them when they got to this Aro guy that they kept mentioning?

"Who's Jane?" Bella questioned, her voice was tight for she couldn't understand why Edward had looked so resigned after she showed up. She was described as being a little girl after all, how could she hurt Edward?

"She... is someone you would never want to cross," Edward answered.

Bella wanted to retort, she's a vampire, of course I would never want to cross her, but she held her tongue, she could tell that Edward didn't want to talk about this. Edward on the other hand was thinking about the little vampire and how he hoped that Bella indeed never met her. Not that Jane would be able to hurt Bella the way that she hurts everyone else, but still, she was not an enemy anyone would want to have.

Bella read on, cuddling closer to Edward the more she read. She didn't like going down into the dark tunnel, being lead there by impatient vampires.

"It's getting sort of late, it's lunch time," Edward said as Bella finished the chapter.

"I don't care, I have to know what happens next," Bella said and flipped the page; she had to know what kind of doom awaited them now. A part of her was intrigued to hear about all the other vampires, the Volturi that were in a real way the rulers of all the other vampires. At least they enforced their laws with strict penalties and had everyone else fearing their power.

It was clear that Aro was the leader of the group and she wasn't sure if she liked him or not. She could understand and almost respect his curiosity, but there was just something about him that made her think that he wasn't someone you would want to have around. Like he would turn on you in a second. Then there was Caius, who she knew she didn't like. He was too brutal. Then there was Marcus, who she found to be sad, and wondered why he seemed to be so distant. When she asked Edward about it he told her that he had lost his mate and therefore there was nothing else for him to live for.

Bella had to think about that; she didn't want Edward to die, especially if it was because she herself died, but she didn't want him to be like this – a lifeless ancient that seemed to have a sad existence… that was going to stretch out for eternity.

Shaking her head from that disturbing thought, she went on in her disturbing book. She didn't know what was going to happen, so she had no chance to skip the part that had her in tears. The description of the pain that Edward went through while being tortured seemed to flatten her.

"I'm okay," Edward whispered to her, "we're not going to go anywhere near the Volturi in this reality so you don't have to worry about this."

Bella wanted to complain to him, tell him he shouldn't have tried to protect her, for there was no way that she was going to get out of there without Jane torturing her too, but she couldn't. It would only upset Edward, and she couldn't stand to see any form of pain on his face at the moment. That was why she steeled herself not to react when she too felt the pain. It was okay... she could do that for him.

"It didn't work?" Bella said incredulously. "She can't hurt me."

"It seems like I'm not the only one that can't get through that thick skull of yours!" Edward smiled, his eyes were looking over her cautiously, trying to see if she was going to break down again... or how else she might take this news.

"Wow!" was all Bella said. She wasn't sure what that meant, but it had to be good. She only wished she could have done something to prevent Edward from getting hurt. "Argh... Edward, why did you have to try to protect me?"

"What?" Edward said, caught off guard by her question.

"Jane wouldn't have hurt you if you didn't try..." Bella started to say.

"I couldn't just stand there and let anyone hurt you, Bella," Edward said firmly.

"That doesn't stop me from getting hurt, Edward... it hurts seeing you in pain too," Bella informed him.

"I can understand that," Edward said, and she was sure that meant that he understood her pain, but he wasn't going to stop protecting her.

"So can I really block out everything?" Bella questioned after Aro powers didn't work on her.

"Well, not every power," Edward said, "of course you can't block Alice or Jasper..."

"Oh right," Bella frowned, "I wonder what the difference is between those two things."

"One's all in your mind sweety," Edward said chuckling, "and the other is affected by outside forces."

Bella narrowed her eyes, but what he said made sense. It seemed like her mind could block anything that anyone threw at her. That was sort of comforting that no one could get into her mind.

She started reading on at that point and was terrified when she heard the verdict the Volturi made... to kill them. And then she almost smiled when Alice said that she had seen her become a vampire and they were allowed to leave. She wasn't sure if Edward was agreeing with that fact but it didn't matter, for it got them out of the room full of vampires.

"No," Bella said, groaning as soon as the people were mentioned. People that were not getting back out of that room... that were walking to their deaths. It was bad enough to know this, but it was even worse knowing that this was something that happened all the time.

"I know," Edward sighed, and wrapped his arms around him.

"Ah..." Bella sighed as things went on and she hear her thoughts. She couldn't believe that her book self still didn't understand that Edward cared about her. It was ridiculous how she couldn't see it. She wondered how she could miss this, but she knew she was in a lot of pain right now... she had believed the lie and it was so deeply part of her that she couldn't see the truth.

She smiled during the whole conversation with Edward, of course it was embarrassing, but liked the honesty that was in this chapter... she could do without the part where she thought she was dreaming, but it was okay...

"Do you really think you were worse than me when you were gone?" Bella asked.

"I had a tendency to underestimate you..." Edward started to say.

"Um... I don't think that's the best way to start your argument..." Bella frowned.

"But... I really not sure," Edward said. "All I know is that I had to be miserable and there was nothing that I could do to change it..."

"Do you think it's bad if I'm glad I don't get to hear that?" Bella questioned.

"No, do you think it's bad that I'm glad that I did hear this?" Edward said. "I glad that I know this now, so that I know I can't ever leave you."

"Then it's okay," Bella sighed. She read the last chapter, smiling when she had her epiphany, though wishing it could have come sooner... let say the third chapter. And smiled even more when the Cullens, with the exception of Rosalie (but Bella understood her reason even better than her book self did), voted to included her in their family. And that she would also be becoming a vampire in the near future.

"So, will I be a vampire in the next book?" Bella asked hopeful.

Edward just smiled at her until she made a face at him and then continued reading.

"You...YOU... What?" Bella said dropping the book.

"Is there something wrong?" Edward asked.

"You... in my room... prolong vampire... you," Bella said, not able to from a coherent sentence.

"Bella," Edward tried to give her an innocent look, but his amusement ruined it.

"I'm only seventeen..." Bella said her eyes wide in fear.

"Eighteen... in the book," Edward corrected.

"I'm so young... why are you doing this to me?" Bella groaned.

"Because I was trying to think of a good way to stall you becoming a vampire," Edward said and the amusement was gone from his eyes as he said this.

"And you think that's a good reason to ask someone to mar... ma... do that?" Bella said, unable to even say the word.

"No," Edward sighed, "it's a horrible reason to ask someone to marry you, and I am sorry I did it. When I do it in this reality... I'll do it right."

"Argh," Bella groaned, he couldn't be thinking about asking her that... could he? Not after seeing this reaction. "That's not really... Edward I..."

"Sh..." Edward said, "I do know your arguments, Bella. I'm not asking you to marry me right now," he said and left his hands to cup her cheek. "You're my future Bella, and I'm going to want to make you my wife, but I understand you need some time. Just know, that one day I am going to ask this question..." he whispered the last part before kissing her. It was a slow and lingering kiss, threw which he tried to show all the feelings he had at the moment.

"Wow," Bella said when he released her, she was pretty sure she would have agreed to anything after that speech – and very good kiss – but she was also very glad he wasn't asking her right now. She didn't really know why she was so afraid of marriage, okay she knew why and it's named Renee. But it didn't make sense that she was so terrified of marrying Edward, when she was ready to spend forever with him. It still didn't change how she felt about marriage though... no matter how ridiculous and unreasonable she was being.

She finished the book still thinking about Edward's, both Edwards', proposals, and wondering how that was going to form in the future.

She didn't like the fight she had with Charlie one bit. How could she pull the moving out card on him like that after all he had been through... after everything he had done for her in this book. Still, she knew that she couldn't handle it if Edward wasn't allowed at her house. She could tell that things weren't going to be pretty in the start of the next book. She was going to be grounded, a new thing for her. She wasn't going to be speaking with Jacob, the stupid jerk had told Charlie about her motorcycle (which meant even more grounding) and he didn't approve of her choice to become a vampire.

That was something she was really going to have to work with; how was she ever supposed to be friends with Jacob when she knew he would never accept her choice to change. None of the Quileutes would, nor would they just let it go. She was sure that they were thinking about this even now, and weren't going to just stand by if she was turned into a vampire.

"What are we going to do when you turn me?" Bella asked Edward.

"I'm not sure what we will have to do," Edward answered cryptically. "If you want to know that, you should keep reading.

"Well maybe I will, but first I was thinking I would eat," Bella said, "Do you realize I should have eaten hours ago."

"You mean at a little more than two hours ago that I told you, you should eat," Edward stated.

"Yeah, at that time," Bella agreed with a smile. "I don't know how you let me get away with not eating; you know how cranky I get when I'm hungry."

"I sorry," Edward smiled down at her kissing the top of her head as they got up. Bella walked to the table and by the time she got there her late lunch was waiting for her.

 **A/N: Well there was the second book. It looks like this is the only way I know how to write these things. On Friday I will be moving on to** _ **Eclipse**_ **and I was wondering if you would prefer a long chapter, even longer than this chapter was (and this was 9000+ words) or if you rather I split it in two and post the first half on Friday and the next on Tuesday. I will only be offering to post two chapter a week for Eclipse and Breaking Dawn because it's easier for me to do chapters like this (I'm working with what I remember of the book and not original work). Anyway, let me know what you prefer.**


	18. Reading Eclipse Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: One of my Betas have looked this over now. Thanks to Angelinia, who beta this story.**

 **On another disappointed note (to some of you at least), I couldn't get through** _ **Eclipse**_ **. I was planning on doing a big chapter but it takes forever to write this and after awhile my head starts to get cloudy about what to write. Besides, I spent more than ten hours writing this, it's over 8500 words long, and it was only half the book. So, for all of you who wanted another update on Tuesday be happy, for the second half will be done then. And seeing as** _ **Breaking Dawn**_ **is even longer than this book, I'm assuming that will be broken in half as well.**

Chapter Eighteen

Reading Eclipse Part One

After her lunch was finished she sat down on the couch, leaning back in Edward's arms. "Is this book going to be to be any better than the last?"

"Well, I'm in it more so..." Edward started to say, smiling.

"It will be better," Bella nodded her head, but she could see that there was something in his eyes that made her afraid of what was going to happen. She opened the new book and sighed, as she read the preface. Did they always have to start off the books like this? Well, at least she was with Edward this time. She sighed again as the first chapter started with a letter from Jacob. She couldn't help but wonder if something like this was going to happen to her in this reality. What if Jacob didn't think he could be friends with her after he changed? What if she had to stop being friends with him because he liked her too much and she didn't want to lead him on? She didn't want that, but she was determined to do the right thing this time around.

She groaned at Charlie's attempts at cooking and made a note to tell him never to use the kitchen unless he was making eggs. She liked that her dad was letting her off being grounded, but she didn't know if it was such a good thing with the conditions that he set. She could already tell that the Edward in the book didn't want her to go anywhere near Jacob and now that Charlie was out of the way this issue was only going to get more challenging. This had her thinking of something else though.

"Edward," Bella said putting the book down and looking at him.

"Yes," Edward said, obviously trying to figure out what she was thinking.

"I was just wondering how you were feeling when you first realized that I was friends with Jacob?" Bella asked. Obviously Jacob was Edward's greatest rival for her attention, not that it was much of a competition, but she didn't know how he could deal with that all the time. As far as she could tell, Edward liked Jacob, and was nothing but nice to him. She wasn't sure she would have been able to act as calmly as Edward is if someone that liked him like that was always around.

"I wanted to rip his head off and keep him away from you," Edward chuckled, "still do sometimes... It helps though that Jacob didn't think of you that way... he seemed to realize that I'm the one you want.

"Oh," was all Bella said to that.

"I thought for sure he would try to convince you from the beginning that I was no good... but... he wasn't that bad," Edward sighed. "Though now... I don't know what he's thinking, but he's starting to resent me... and he's thinking you're beautiful and I just don't think I can handle him being around if he's going to like you like that. I know he's your friend... and I would say he's mine too... but I don't..."

"Edward," Bella stopped him there, placing a hand on his lips to stop him from speaking. "I won't let that happen either... if Jake likes me... I won't be able to see him. I'm not going to hurt either you or him like that."

"Okay," Edward smiled at her, and it seemed that Edward really relaxed at that.

Bella then picked the book up and started reading. She smiled and rolled her eyes when the college talk started and how Edward seemed to so enthuse to get her to sign up.

"Dartmouth! Seriously Edward, do you really think I could get in there?" Bella rolled her eyes.

"Of course you can," Edward sighed. "And my whole family agrees with me..."

"Well, your whole family tend to be just as delusional as you are when it comes to me some times," Bella mumbled. "Edward I..."

"Carlisle has been a professor at Dartmouth a few times and trust me, he knows the kind of students they are looking for," Edward said, and before Bella could interrupt him he went on. "And believe me; he knows you would do well there. He said you have a very creative mind and any school would be lucky to have you."

"Edward!" Bella blushed, she could read the sincerity in his eyes, and even though he was a practiced liar, she could still see that he was telling the truth this time. Edward just smiled at her and after awhile, she started reading again, feeling a little dazed by what he had said. She never thought of herself as being that good of a student, you now the kind that got into schools like Dartmouth.

As she kept reading she wasn't too pleased by Edward's lack of concern about the dangers that were facing them. Or maybe it was by his insistence that he keep her human, but she was really wondering what it was that made Edward change his mind about that issue, though she knew better than to ask about it now. He would tell her to just keep reading.

Then she was shocked to hear about the deaths in Seattle and how it was vampires doing it. She wondered why that was being mentioned in the book and felt very apprehensive about what danger this was going to hold for her. However, she kept reading that was the only way she would get answers now.

"Edward?" Bella asked.

"Yes?" Edward said, looking apprehensive himself.

"You know how the last book you mentioned _Romeo and Juliet_ ," Bella said and now Edward started to chuckle, he was obviously not expecting this question. Bella, however, went on, "Does this mean that this book is going to have themes of _Wuthering Heights_?"

"I suppose," was all Edward would say, his eyes hard to read. Bella wasn't sure if she was going to like that.

Bella wasn't sure if it was such a good idea that she was that determined to see Jacob again even when Jacob was telling her to stay away. Yes, she didn't like the fact that he was hurt, but wouldn't it be better if she let him heal without her, seeing as she wouldn't be in his life that much longer... she was sure that as soon as she was a vampire they couldn't be friends. She sighed at this thought; she knew that was true for this reality, too.

Bella raised an eyebrow at the title of the next chapter, but otherwise let it go. She kind of liked how the book showed that she was friends with Angela and how the shy girl had accepted Alice and even Edward easily. Alice was already working on Angela now, and she could see that this was going to be the outcome of her efforts. Then Alice had a vision and she knew that it was something bad for Edward had ignored her for the rest of the time at school. And she didn't buy his reason, like her book self seemed to, and was suspicious when he tried to talk her into going away that weekend.

She turned to glare at Edward when he said that Alice had seen Jasper going to see this Maria vampire, sure that he was lying to her. Edward tried to look innocent, but she didn't buy it, he was too innocent.

"Edward, why are you lying to me?" Bella hissed at him.

"I want to keep you safe," Edward said pinching the bridge of his nose, "... I didn't want you to worry."

"I would prefer it if you didn't lie," Bella said stiffly. "I doubt this is really going to stop me from worrying... So what is it that Alice saw?"

"Victoria," Edward answered with a sigh and Bella nodded, she had figured as much. Bella was surprised how easily she took the news; she supposed it had something to do with the fact that Victoria could never hurt her in this reality, so this part was completely fictional to her. The other part, dealing with Jacob on the other hand could still be a problem and it was something she had to worry about.

She started reading again and glared more at Edward when he mentioned the trip to Charlie, she knew why he was doing this, but she hated that he caused her to argue with her dad. She didn't want to fight with Charlie and she hated that she was hurting him with what she said. Edward whispered his apologies to her and that made her relaxed a little. She was reminded that Charlie didn't hate Edward in this reality and he probably wouldn't have reacted this badly if she and Edward were to go visit her mom.

"Holy crow!" Bella groaned when she figured out what Charlie was talking about once she got home again. Her face turned bright red and she shuddered as she realized that Edward's family had read all of that, too. She wouldn't be able to face them for a week at least.

"They mostly laughed at me," Edward informed her, obviously amused.

"Hmph," Bella groaned again, that didn't help her feel any less embarrassed. It was bad enough that her dad was giving her the sex talk, did her other family have to hear all about it as well.

Edward kissed the top her head and snuggled closer to her and she felt herself automatically relax into his chest. He wasn't playing fair, but at the moment she didn't mind, she didn't want to think about what she had just read.

Bella continued reading and groaned as she tried to sneak off to meet Jacob and sighed when Edward had sabotaged her truck. As she finished the chapter she got angry though, what right did Edward have to stop her from seeing her friend if she wanted to?

"Edward, I really hope you never do anything like this in our reality," Bella said coldly.

"Don't worry; I won't," Edward said, "though I have to tell you that I was afraid for your safety..."

"I know," Bella said softer. "But that's not the only reason why you didn't want me going to see Jacob."

"No... I don't think it was," Edward agreed.

"I'm sorry," Bella said snuggling back into his chest. "But please don't try to control me... I don't like it when people tell me what to do."

"I promise," Edward sighed, kissing the top of her head.

As she read about her mom Bella sighed. She missed her mom so much; she wished she could see her. Though she knew there was no other place she'd rather be than wherever Edward was, a part of her wished that she could have move to Florida with her mom. For of course near the end of the last semester her mom told her that Phil had been signed and she could live with them in Florida. Her mom had been perplexed at first as to why Bella would refuse to go, but when she came to visit Forks, she quickly realized that Edward played a major part of it. Renee had watched her and Edward closely for the first few days she was there and Bella was sure that she was wary about their relationship, but as the week went on Renee seemed to relax. Bella wasn't so sure what that was about, but she was happy that her mother seemed to really like Edward. It was even better when the Cullens had Renee and Charlie over; Alice had planned the whole thing and it was very uncomfortable at first until he watched some game with Emmett on the Cullens' awesome TV. Renee simply loved Esme and Alice and the rest of the Cullens, and Bella was sure she would have no trouble from her mom in the future.

"You miss your mom," Edward stated.

"Yeah, I really do," Bella said, "I wouldn't mind if I got these tickets as my birthday presents..."

"Subtle hint," Edward chuckled.

Bella kept reading, and was surprised when Jacob called her and horrified that he might believe that she had been turned. She agree wholeheartedly though with her thought that they were going to have to leave whenever it was that she was turned. The wolves aren't going to be too happy with that.

And then she was annoyed at Edward again for the fact that he had lied to her, but she mostly let it go, she had already scolded him about that and she was sure that he wouldn't lie to her like that (and if his book self knew what was good for him he wouldn't lie either). She didn't really like how Jacob was described in this chapter, she already felt nostalgic for her friend and wondered if Jacob right now changed to the way he was described in the book.

"What is he doing to you?" Bella exclaimed when it mentioned Edward's pain, how he looked the same when Jane was torturing him.

"He's showing me Sam's memories," Edward sighed. "The ones of you... in the forest..."

"Hmph!" She found herself getting really angry at Jacob for being so cruel as to do something like that.

"He thought I was a monster, Bella," Edward said to calm her down. "You know how Sam and Jared feel about me... well, that's how this Jacob feels too, except he has even more reason to hate me because he likes you... and because I did hurt you."

"That doesn't make this right," Bella mumbled.

"No, but I know for a fact that the Jacob we know would never do this to me," Edward insisted.

"He doesn't have a memory that could hurt you like this," Bella pointed out.

"Even if he did... I don't think he would use it," Edward said. "His perspective on us is completely different..."

"Fine," Bella sighed, still she was upset about this, she continued to read. And was only able to smile when Edward and her were exchanging notes. But she felt worried again when Mike, Ben and the others talked about who would win if Edward and Jacob were to fight. She knew if something like that ever happened it would ignite a war between her family (as she had come to think of the Cullens) and her friends. She found herself praying that something would happen that would make the two groups get closer and she prayed that she wouldn't be the catalyst that caused them to fight.

She went on to the next chapter, and sighed when she was heading towards La Push. She knew this was going to happen, but she worried how Edward was going to react to that. She looked up at him, "how bad are you going to react to this?"

"Bad," Edward chuckled. "But I'm not going to do anything stupid."

"Unlike me," Bella mumbled. "So you're not going to break the treaty and come in to get me?"

"No," Edward was no longer laughing, "I'm sure I wanted to. To be honest, I get worried every time you go to La Push, and I know nothing is going to happen to you now."

"I'm sorry," Bella frowned; she didn't want to make him worry.

"It's okay, like I said I know nothing is going to happen," Edward said, wrapping his arms around her. "I just get anxious whenever I can't see you or hear your heart beating."

Bella smiled at him, her heart seemed to beat harder in response to his words. She started reading again and was happy and yet wary about how she reacted to Jacob. She really shouldn't have come down here; she was giving Jacob the wrong impression again, and now she didn't even have the excuse that she was trying to keep herself together. She tried to focus on the fact that she was helping a friend out, and that he needed her, but she was terrified of how much this was going to hurt everyone in the end.

She felt it was good that she was telling Jacob more about Edward, sure that if her friend understood Edward better in the book they could learn to like each other like they had in this reality. Well, maybe not that much, they would still see each other as rivals but if they understood each other it could only help things, right? And learning what happened in Italy that would only show how much she was willing to do for Edward and his family and what they were willing to do for her. Right?

She groaned when she heard of the almost fight between the wolf Paul and Emmett. She seriously hoped that the two groups weren't as close to fighting as they seemed to be in this book.

She snorted when Jacob said that Sam thought that she could ever hate the Cullens. It wasn't in her to hate them, even in her darkest hours in _New Moon_ , she had never hated the Cullens. Then she was annoyed when Jacob questioned why she liked Edward. But she didn't let that bother her too much, she knew her Jacob didn't question that and this one... well Edward was right, when it came to the whole vampire issue he was a lot different from her friend.

She did have to laugh at her own comment when he mentioned dating her own species and she said that she was stuck with Mike Newton. It served Jacob right for being such a jerk about this. It wasn't like he was a normal human anymore.

The next chapter really seemed to hold her interest, though she was saddened to hear that Quil had turned into a werewolf too, she was still interested in hearing why Sam was so moody about the Cullens. She of course had meet Emily a few times in the past, and knew who had given her, her scars, but she'd never heard the story behind this. She was too afraid to ask Sam or Emily about this, and she didn't think it was her place to even ask Jacob. That didn't mean she didn't wonder. Nor did it mean that she wasn't struck by how much Sam and Emily seemed to love each other, how it seemed to shine through them whenever they were around each other.

She wasn't as shocked as he book self to hear that Jacob wasn't ageing and was even able to laugh at her own reaction (reminding herself that Edward had promised that he would turn her as long as she wanted to). She had already known the wolves wouldn't age unless they stop turning into wolves.

She had no idea that Leah had been involved with Sam and she agreed with her book self, that it was odd picturing him loving anyone but Emily. It was terrible hearing that Emily and Leah were cousins, close to sisters, and how hard that must have been on the two of them. But Bella knew that Emily had no choice to love Sam back, she knew what it felt like having someone love you with everything they are... that was how Edward loved her and there was no way that she could ever not love Edward.

"Aw," Bella let out a relieved sighed when Jacob confirmed that he hadn't imprinted on her. She was pretty sure that couldn't happen... it would have been obvious by now if he had she was sure... but it didn't make her relief any less, knowing for sure.

"Worried that he imprinted on you," Edward stated.

"Sort of," Bella sighed, "but it didn't seem practically that that would happen."

"What do you mean?" Edward questioned.

"It seems a little silly to me if a wolf imprinted on someone who had already found the love of her life," Bella said smiling at Edward. "One would think that their instincts would be smart enough not to do something like that, knowing it would only doom them."

"That makes sense," Edward smiled.

"And seeing as I already know that I love you more than anything, with my entire being, he could never imprint on me," Bella concluded smiling at Edward and leaned up to kiss him. It was some time later that Bella continued reading the chapter. She sighed when she agreed to see him again when Edward was _'away'_ knowing how much Edward would hate that. And she felt even more foreboding about this when Jacob admitted that he missed her more than she knew... why did she have to continue to lead Jacob on...? It wasn't right. She valued her friendship with him, but this wasn't right.

The next chapter she almost laughed at the way that she reacted when Edward was following her, but she was reminded how close Edward was to breaking the treaty and it wasn't so funny after that. Her talk with Angela, however, was nice. She liked knowing that there was someone normal that she could talk to if all the supernatural things got too much. However, she didn't really like the fact that she wouldn't be able to be friends with Angela after the transformation. It was sad, but there really wasn't anything she could do about it.

She wasn't that surprised with the way that Edward reacted when she got home, but she got a little annoyed with how he decided to deal with her. He had Alice babysitting her. Argh.

"Edward!" Bella groaned after she got to the part where she was about to call the book Edward. "Seriously, what were you thinking doing this?"

"That I didn't want you near the dangerous young wolf," Edward answered and Bella narrowed her eyes at him. "Bella, I'm not reacting like this now..."

"I know that," Bella rolled her eyes, "and I know that you have a reason to be like this, but Edward, it's not healthy for you to control me like this and I really wish you wouldn't involve your siblings in our disagreement. I don't want to be angry at Alice too..."

"Sorry," Edward sighed. "But I knew you would try to see Jacob again..."

"That's not an excuse... or at least it's not a good one," Bella glared at him.

"You know how much you mean to me," was all Edward said and the glare melted. She couldn't argue with that and she didn't want to. It was still annoying that he would do this, but she had to let it go.

As she read on she smiled at her reaction to Edward having a bed and that she went to the couch to sleep on, it really was something she would do when she was being stubborn. And then Rosalie came in and Bella sighed. She already knew what was coming in the next chapter and knew how sad it was. She read the next chapter and it seemed to ring out to her with more effect than when she was reading the other chapters because she could hear Rosalie's voice as the read. She knew exactly how each part would be said and it made all the more depressing.

She shed a few tears at the end, something she hadn't done in the blond, proud vampire's presence; she wouldn't have appreciated that. She found reading this part was even sadder than hearing Rosalie the first time, for she knew what Rosalie had wanted and the sad details seemed to stick out more.

She was almost happy that after the heavy stuff that Rosalie mentioned Tanya and her sister. She had read exactly how Edward felt towards Tanya so there was only a minimal amount of jealousy about that. However, she did wonder something.

"Edward?" Bella asked and he nodded his head so she knew she should go on. "I'm I going to meet your cousins as you call them?"

"You mean Tanya and the others," Edward clarified and Bella nodded her head this time. "Hm... do you mean while you're still human?"

"Yes."

"I would think so," Edward said. "But I don't see you meeting them any time soon. They don't even know about you yet in fact."

"Why not... are you ashamed of me?" Bella pouted and Edward laughed.

"Of course not, you silly girl," Edward chuckled.

"But I'm only a human..." Bella went on and was surprised that this only made Edward laughed harder.

"They can't say anything on that part, seeing as how they love human so much themselves," Edward explained and Bella looked at him oddly until she said 'oh'.

Shaking that thought out of her mind, she asked, "so why haven't you told them yet?"

"Well, we don't always talk to them for one things," Edward said, and then sighed. "And we didn't want Laurent hearing about you... I don't feel comfortable about that at all."

"No," Bella agreed with that, her body shuddering in Edwards arms.

"He's not going to hurt you," Edward whispered reassuringly and when she relaxed he added, "I am hoping that you will get to meet them though... later on, though you will still be human."

"What does that mean?" Bella questioned him and he smiled, not answering her. She groaned, when she realized he wasn't going to say anything and then kept reading.

She cursed herself when she got on the motorcycle with Jacob... this wasn't going well at all.

She was shocked and a little disgusted when Quil imprinted on a toddler. It just didn't seem right. Then she thought about the fact that Quil would likely stay young until Claire was around his age and then try to quit being a wolf so they could grow old together. It was still disconcerting, but when she thought of the fact that Edward could easily have met her as a baby... that he was old enough to be her great-grandfather... well, she stopped thinking about that then.

"What is it?" Edward asked noticing the odd look in her eye.

"Nothing," Bella shook her head, she wasn't going to tell Edward this particular thought. "It's just odd... you know that he could imprint on a kid like that."

"Yes," Edward said and there was a stiffness in his voice that confused her. She got the impression that he was upset about something more than just Quil and Claire. She raised her eyebrow, but Edward wouldn't say anything so all she could do was read.

Then Bella felt bad again when Jacob said how much he liked her. She couldn't understand how her book self didn't see how much it would hurt Jacob and Edward if she kept insisting on visiting him. She knew that Jacob was in pain now, and it would be hard for her to ignore that, but it was wrong of her to stay when he was telling her that he liked her that much.

And then he said that he rather she died instead of turning into a vampire and she felt so hurt... for she was afraid that the Jacob she was friends with would think the same thing.

It was odd that Edward had changed his mind about his strict no Jacob policy when she felt as if her book self might have actually seen that it was better to stay away... for a little while at least.

Other than that, she really liked the conversation she had with Edward, it seemed like how they were now, and she loved that they would be talking like this in the future too and hopefully forever.

Before she could read the next chapter she had to make dinner for Charlie. Seeing as she was starting so late she just made one of her quicker meals and it was just barely finished by the time Charlie had gotten home. She enjoyed another pleasant dinner with her dad before he went to watch the game and she went to her room to read.

Then next chapter she sighed at the fact that Jacob had called her to apologize and that she was likely going to forgive him and see him. She was really starting to worry about what was going to happen there. As far as she could see from this book, there was a good reason why Edward had acted the way he did yesterday when Jacob almost phased in her back yard.

She felt odd about Alice taking her things, when she had the sleepover at the Cullens; Alice didn't usually do that, nor did she straighten up her room. But she shrugged that off because she had to confess she had never been kidnapped before, she had always known in advance that she was going to be staying with the Cullens so she had packed accordingly.

And then Edward came to her house and everything thing else went out of her mind. She could feel her heart to start to beat faster at his reaction, knowing something bad was going on. Edward's cold hands made soothing motions on her back calmed her down some, but she couldn't help the panic that came when she heard there had been another vampire in her room. That Charlie had been in the house alone when a stray vampire came to her house.

Edward whispered that this wouldn't happen and she believed him, but she couldn't help but wonder if that only meant that this vampire wasn't going to come to her house or no vampire would. He couldn't promise the later and that terrified her... She wasn't so afraid for herself, for she was rarely home without Edward, but the same couldn't be said about Charlie. She didn't voice her fears however, knowing that there wasn't anything Edward could do about this and didn't want to make him feel worried or guilty.

She felt worse when they got to Edward's house and no one knew who was in her room. All the reasons that they came up with scared her, she didn't want to think that the Volturi had sent someone there to check up on whether or not she was human. She didn't like the idea of them coming before she had been changed and the Cullens getting hurt because she was still human... she wished that Edward would just change her already, but knew that wasn't going to happen. However, it was what Esme suggested that scared her most, because it was what she was thinking about now. That it was just some random vampire that happened to come across Edward's (and the others) scent and stopped by her house.

Edward seemed to notice her reaction and groaned in her shoulder. She groaned too, she didn't want Edward to know she was afraid of this.

"Alice is keeping an eye on that," Edward said softly. "She always sees when one of our kind is coming... even if they don't know if we're here, she sees it."

"Then how..." Bella started to asked.

"This vampire knows how to get around Alice's visions, but there isn't anyone that knows how to do that now... well, except for my family," Edward said, "Don't worry, Bella."

"Okay," Bella said and really did relax this time.

Bella sighed when she read about Jacob calling and she made up with him. Then Edward was talking to him and told Jacob about the vampire problem and Bella had mixed feelings about that. First, she was a little afraid for the werewolves' safety for she wasn't sure how strong they were (not having seen their wolf form yet). Second, she was thinking that having a common enemy might strengthen the relationship between the wolves and the Cullens, so she was almost happy about this. However, the last thing she was feeling was apprehension; she wasn't sure what this would do with the growing tensions between her relationship with Jacob and Edward.

The next chapter proved she had a right to be worried because Edward was leaving... he couldn't be in the same room as Jacob because he predicted that they would fight. She really didn't like that. She actually didn't cringe that much in this conversation with Jacob, it seemed to be closer to the ones she had now with him. She only rolled her eyes when he teased her about Edward having fangs, it was a joke that was told a few times by the Jacob she was friends with now. She was worried when he cut his hand and was surprised to see how quickly he healed.

And then Jacob was gone and Edward was back and they discussed several things. The subject of colleges came up again and she was surprised to learn she was accepted to Dartmouth, not sure if what her book self thought was true or if she should listen to what Edward had said earlier, but she knew there was no point in bringing it up right now.

Then the news about the vampire in Seattle was brought up again and she felt herself shudder. This was definitely going to affect them.

"What does it mean that Jasper is sort of an expert on young vampires?" Bella questioned and realized that she didn't know too much about Jasper past. She got the feeling that it wasn't something he liked to talk about so she didn't think it was good idea to ask about it.

"You'll see," was all Edward had to say about that.

She sighed when she realized that Edward wanted her to accept Jacob's invitation to La Push, not sure if it was a good idea. It really was odd how he seemed to be pushing her to do this, but she felt that it might be because he could see that her book self did want to go and Edward always wanted to give her what she wanted.

"You got yourself a bike," Bella smiled at that.

"Well... it seemed like a good idea," Edward chuckled.

"And you got me a helmet..." Bella chuckled, "I probably should have thought of that before."

"Yes, you should have," Edward said not smiling this time; her safety was no joking matter.

"But I think the protecting me from road rash is a little much," Bella shook her head.

"Maybe I just got that jacket because I knew you would be sexy in it... did you ever think of that?" Edward asked and chuckled again when she blushed. "I'm thinking about getting you a jacket like that now, even though you don't have a bike to ride."

Bella blushed more than ever at that and the look in his eyes, before he kissed her, then again she couldn't remember anything but to kiss him back... forcing him to pull away when she stopped breathing.

"Bella," Edward said in his exasperated, but smug voice and then leaned back waiting for Bella to start reading again. Which she did after a few minutes of calming herself down. The book had her sighing again in no time; it was just odd being handed off between Edward and Jacob...

There was nothing new in the next chapter she read (besides the comments from the pack members) for she had already heard about the legends when she had gone to the meetings with Jacob earlier that month. She did think it was odd that Seth and Leah were there, they weren't there now and as far as she knew the council wasn't planning on inviting them to come. She would have thought they might be werewolves too, but Jacob had never once mentioned a girl being a wolf and she didn't think it was possible. Even though she had heard the stories before, she found that she enjoyed listening to them again, this time thinking how the Cullens would have reacted to this.

"Carlisle must have loved this chapter," Bella smiled.

"You have no idea... he was practically bouncing in his seat," Edward chuckled. "He was almost as bad as Emmett was. He still wish he could hear the legends from Billy and Quil Ateara, to get the whole experience."

"He really should, it's a lot better hearing it from them," Bella agreed.

When she started reading again she wasn't so sure she was dreaming the part where Edward was reading _Wuthering Heights_ , she thought that there was something that Edward could think (though she hoped that Edward wouldn't have really had hurt someone).

The next chapter had her worrying. The way that her book self was panicking made her uncomfortable. Was she, herself going to panic like that when she was facing her own mortality? She knew she wanted a life with Edward, and the only way that relationship would really work out was if she was a vampire. She also knew the argument against becoming a vampire. She didn't believe that vampires were soulless, so she didn't agree with Edward's argument. She felt it was true that she didn't know what it was like when you first became a vampire and that scared her a little. She knew she would essential be the same when she changed, but she only had a vague idea how strong the pull of blood was going to be for her. She remembered hearing how Edward had suffered in _Midnight Sun_ and wasn't looking forward to that. But Edward would be there for her; he would help her through the transition and make sure she wouldn't hurt anyone.

Then she thought about what she would give up being if she became a vampire. She could never have a child. She had never really thought of that issue and it didn't really bother her now, but maybe it would someday. Was Rosalie right about that? One day she would regret never becoming a mother? However, she couldn't think about this without thinking about the price. She knew she couldn't live without Edward, she never wanted to try. Perhaps she would give herself a few years time... to see if she would actually want a kid in the future and if she did she would get artificially inseminated or something like that. She could last a few years being human to make a decision like this, couldn't she? She didn't like the idea of reaching twenty and still be human (she liked the idea of always being a teenager like Edward was) but as long as she had his insurance that he would change her, it would be best to give herself time for this.

She felt better after she thought about this, the change didn't seem as scary and she wasn't sure why. She continued to read and picked out when Edward had said that they could have been human together. Hearing his description of the type of man he was, the one that would have wanted to marry her as soon as he found her took her breath away. The picture painted in the book flashed before her eyes and she almost wished they could be human together too... but that was not possible, so she was just going to have to grow old with him without ageing.

She had to admit, this image was making the thought of actually marrying Edward seem slightly more tempting. She still didn't like the idea of getting proposed to before she was even out of high school; they were (or at least she was) so young, but it wasn't like she was going to change her mind about wanting to be with Edward forever. However, she couldn't get rid of the well placed fear that her mom drilled into her when she was young; smart people don't get married until they were thirty! But she was smart, and marrying Edward seemed right to her somehow... But she could just see what everyone was thinking when they heard that they were getting married...

"Bella, what are you thinking?" Edward asked, his chest vibrating from his suppressed laughter.

"Nothing," Bella mumbled, and Edward chuckled more.

"Okay," Edward said like he actually did know what she was thinking, and she sighed, knowing that he probably did. She continued reading to try to hide her embarrassment and was almost immediately horrified about what was happening in Seattle that so many people were dying there. Why were so many people dying? Why were there so many vampires there killing people? She couldn't help but feel like it was somehow her fault.

Edward took her to the Cullen house so he could talk to Jasper and she quickly read on to the next chapter to learn what Jasper's upbringing was like. It wasn't a happy story that was for sure. She couldn't imagine living the way he did, constantly fighting (allies and enemies alike). She hated that Jasper had to go through that, believing that there was no better life for him out there. And she felt even worse knowing that though his empathetic powers helped him survive it also meant that he was feeling everyone hate and angry all the time... that he lived decades like that. She felt she would always be grateful to Peter (and Charlotte) for letting him know that there was a better life for him out there. That he didn't have to live like this. Of course they still hunted humans, but at least it wasn't in this craze way like it was down in the South.

"Edward?" Bella asked suddenly worried about something. "Um... Florida is not the South is it?"

"You mean for vampires," Edward said. "Well, there are parts that are bad, but nowhere near where your mom lives."

"Okay," Bella nodded her head and then went back to reading and than almost immediately said, "it seems like Jasper would have tried to adapt himself to the way Carlisle hunts by himself... I mean if he was feeling adverse to hunting humans because he could feel their emotions at the time."

"Yes, I believe he would have eventually have found his way there on his own if he didn't meet us," Edward smiled. "He's not so sure about that seeing as he has so much difficulty with our diet still."

"Hmph," Bella sighed and then continued to read. She really did like the part where Jasper and Alice meet, it really was cute, especially, how they seemed so happy when they acted it out. She wished the chapter had stopped there for it would have been perfect but no, it had to go into how Jasper was talking about a newborn army. And she had to realize that was what was happening in Seattle, that someone was making an army... an army to destroy her family.

She wasn't sure who had commissioned this army and she didn't worry about trying to figure it out. She was too worried about what they were going to do to her family. She seemed to brighten up when she heard that Carlisle was calling Tanya and the other but was devastated when they refused to help him. She didn't understand how they could refuse if they were supposed to be like extended family and the Cullens were facing death!

"How can they not come?" Bella demanded of Edward.

"Because the wolves killed Laurent," Edward answered, knowing that she had already read that part.

"But they're your family... don't they know that the army could kill you?" Bella exclaimed.

"I'm not sure how serious they thought the danger was," Edward said thoughtfully. "As the way things were now, we had no proof the army was going to attack us. Plus, if Irina really is the mate of Laurent, then there is nothing that will stop her from getting her revenge for his death and her sisters, no matter how much they liked us, would have to side with her in this case. How would you feel if Alice lost Jas..." Bella flinched at those words and Edward seemed to change his statement (though only slight), "actually it would be more like if I lost you, seeing as we have known each other for the shortest amount of time. But either way you can imagine how we would react if we were in their situation."

"I suppose," Bella frowned and then read on but she couldn't help but still feel resentful when she read the last line of the chapter, about one of her family members not surviving.

The next chapter didn't start off very well with the mention of the graduation party that Bella was sure Alice was already thinking about now, probably deciding how to make it even better than it was in the book. And then the chapter just got better when she went to see Jacob. She couldn't be sure, but she had a feeling she knew what declaration was about to be made and she didn't want to hear it.

She was tense of the whole chapter, just waiting of the talk to come and how she was going to react. Edward seemed to try to soothe her but she wasn't being that receptive. Again, she knew something like this had a higher chance of happening and it made her feel worried. And then at the end he said it... he told her that he loved her and it made Bella feel sick. She didn't want him to love her in that way in any reality because she knew there was no happy ending there. She would never love him like he wanted her to. It made her feel worse when she read the next chapter.

"I shouldn't see him anymore!" Bella said, when she read about their conversation. "How can I justify being around him when I know I won't return his feelings?"

"He's a big part of..." Edward started to say.

Bella hissed at that, "it's not fair what I'm doing to him..."

Edward raised his eyebrow, not sure if she would feel that way in a second, and said, "no but he's incredibly insistent... he's not easy to discourage."

"Whatever," Bella mumbled reading on and was horrified when he kissed her. "Argh!" she groaned immediately, she didn't want to kiss anyone but Edward and she hated that he didn't even ask... or waited to see if she wanted to kiss him, he just kissed her.

She was angry now, as she read through this part, and it just fuelled her anger. The jerk wasn't even sorry for what he did... looking all smug!

"Ha... I hit him," Bella smiling, not really that surprised about his, for she was thinking about how much she wanted to hit that Jacob at this moment. The stupid jerk.

"Yep," Edward chuckled. "I was so proud of you."

"Argh! It didn't even hurt him!" Bella groaned this time. "I wish I was stronger..."

And then she continued reading, really mad that Jacob didn't even feel sorry about what he did, even when she made it clear that he had pushed her into the kiss. He was acting like it was some kind of treat... stupid mutt... well this was definitely not endearing her to him at all. She couldn't believe that he could be so bad.

"I can't believe that Charlie took his side!" Bella grumbled. What a traitor, laughing at her joking around with Jake, just because he didn't like Edward. Edward just seemed to chuckle at that, but Bella hardly noticed. She was too busy reading, trying to see how Edward was going to react. At the moment she wouldn't have minded if he punched Jacob, but Edward was probably right, she wouldn't feel that way for long. Still, for something like that he deserved to at least be hurt by the hit he received.

It didn't help her anger at all to learn that Emmett and Jasper were betting on how many people she would kill when she became a vampire, though it did make her feel sick now too. Was she going to read about herself slipping and killing an innocent bystander... could she live with herself if she knew that would happen? But she shook her head, Edward wouldn't be so willing to change her if she was going to kill someone... he would know that she couldn't stand that idea. Still she had to admit she had a temper and it was probably best if she learned how to control it.

"I can't believe they bet on how... on that," Bella sighed.

"They bet on everything," Edward shrugged.

"But that... It's horrible," Bella groaned. "I supposed this means they made a bet on this when they were reading the books too."

Edward was silent for a while before nodded his head. "Yeah, though it might amuse you to know that they switched their bets, Jazz bet low and Em bet high."

"No, that doesn't make me feel better," Bella rolled her eyes and finished the end of the chapter, blushing a little. She could think of one human experience that she wanted to have before becoming a vampire.

"I think you should go to bed," Edward said, knowing that the rest of the book would have her nervous the whole time she read.

"Okay," Bella gave up, putting the book down and snuggling closer to him. Her last thought filling her mind as she drifted off to sleep.


	19. Reading Eclipse Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Nineteen

Reading Eclipse Part Two

The next morning she woke up bright and early, got ready for the day and then went back to reading as quickly as she could. She needed to know what was going to happen next.

She thought it was going to be an easy chapter, just graduation, but of course she was wrong. "The vampire army is after me... they stole my scent!"

"It's okay; you know there's no army..." Edward said.

"But I'm the reason your family is in danger," Bella groaned; she didn't like that at all.

"Of course you're not, Bella," Edward shook his head. "The person responsible is the person that made the army. This is not your fault."

"I cause so many problems for your family, Edward... in every book something seems to go wrong because of me," Bella sighed. "Why do you want to have me around if I..."

"Bella!" Edward groaned. "This isn't your fault!"

"If you never met me, your family wouldn't be in any danger!" Bella exclaimed. She knew this was true.

"And I would have been miserable and not even smart enough to realize it," Edward said. "I'm the one that brought you into this dangerous life and most of the danger that happened in this book has been my fault," Bella tried to interrupt him but he wouldn't let her. "My family has been on my side one hundred percent of the way. Bella, they love you, and they know you're worth any risk that might come with getting to know you."

Bella nodded her head at that; she knew he was right she just didn't like being the target.

"Besides, none of this is going to happen so you're not really endangering us," Edward added.

Bella continued to read, trying to concentrate more on the ceremony and how Charlie was reacting to all this instead of the danger that her family was in, but all her book self seemed to think about was the danger. It was understandable, but a little annoying at the moment. However, at the end of the chapter she could smile at the talk she had with Charlie; that was more like the reaction she would expect from her father.

She hated the tension that was going on at the start of the next chapter. It seems like everyone was on edge with her discovery. Perhaps they hadn't believed that the army really was after them until she had connected that incident with her things getting stolen. Whatever it was, it seemed to really have put the Cullens into action, and they were planning on going to Seattle soon.

Then the party started and it was just what she wanted to happen when she was worried sick. The strange thing was that she wasn't sure if she was being sarcastic or not. At least the fear for her family's safety was distracting her from the horrors of the party. Especially when Edward disappeared, knowing that something had changed that he didn't want her to worry about yet. She was just as curious as her book self was to find out what was going on.

She groaned when Jacob showed up. She hadn't forgiven him yet and was mad that her book self seemed to... or was so distracted by her worry to care about being mad. Then he gave her a present, a little wooden wolf and she was wearing it, though she knew what it would mean to him... what was wrong with her?

And then she realized what was going to happen.

"Argh! You're going to team up with the wolves to fight the newborns," Bella groaned.

"Yeah," Edward chuckled. "I thought you would have figured that out sooner."

"And if I had it probably would have been better than it is right now," Bella grumbled.

"Why?" Edward said confused.

"Because right now I'm still mad at Jacob for being a jerk!" Bella stated angrily. "And I don't think it's such a great idea that we see each other," she added in a softer voice. "I shouldn't be around him if he feels that way for me... it's not right, and now he's going to have to be there... because the wolves are going to want to protect me too."

"It's not only you they have to protect," Edward said. "The newborn army is coming to Forks..."

"No!" Bella moaned, picturing her friends being faced with a coven of vampires.

"With the wolves' help, it is not a problem, Bella," Edward assured her.

"Good," Bella sighed, "but this still means that Jacob is going to have to be around me now..."

"I know," Edward sighed, pulling her closer. It was getting harder for him to read this. Though he was reassured by the way she was reacting to her book self's actions, he still knew what was coming closer to the end of this book and he wasn't sure how she would react to that.

She read on, seeing what Alice had to say about her vision of the newborn army coming here and then how the werewolves happily volunteered for the fight, looking for vampires that they could kill.

As she read the next chapter, she was just glad that she didn't feel the panic that her book self did, for she knew Edward wouldn't be so calm if something terrible happened to his family. She also realized that Edward wouldn't have been this calm if one of the Quileutes got hurt either, for it would hurt her and he wouldn't want that.

She was surprised that Edward thought that he could leave her behind. There was no way she would miss the first meeting between the vampires and the werewolves. She had to know that they wouldn't end up fighting each other. Plus, she was secretly wondering what it was like when the Cullens were fighting. Though they seemed to act like themselves whenever she was around, moving faster than she could see at times, she had never seen them fight. She wondered if Esme had forbidden Emmett from starting anything whenever she was around.

When she read about coming into the clearing and her hypothesis that it was Victoria that was behind this she realized that she had always assumed it was her. The way that Edward told her that this was never going to happen seemed to have subconsciously stated to her that it was this wild vampire that had been dead for months now and couldn't hurt her.

"It is Victoria," she stated, looking at Edward and he nodded his head. And this was good because if it had ended up being the Volturi she knew that there could be a chance that something like this would happen. That was indeed a much bigger issue than Victoria for they were a problem that could very likely go off in the future and she wasn't just thinking about the book future. All that would have to happen is for them to find out about them...

"What are you worrying about?" Edward questioned.

"The Volturi," Bella answered immediately.

"I just said it was Victoria and..." Edward started to say with a smile.

"I was just worrying about the danger they pose to us in our reality," Bella said as both a statement and a question.

"I see," Edward said thoughtfully. "We are worried about that too. But as of right now, there is no reason for any of us to come across them; you shouldn't worry about that."

Bella could see the tension in Edward's eyes. She knew something was going to happen with them in these books, but she didn't question him anymore. She continued reading.

She was unnerved when it said that there were ten wolves. That meant four more people transformed, four more kids. She again thought of how Seth was at the council meeting and feared he would be one of them. She was interested to see the different fighting styles of the Cullens. Of course she was worried about them despite the assurance that they would be okay, but she wasn't terrified as her book self was. She felt the best when it showed how Alice fought, for truth be told she was worried about how her friend would handle herself (she was so small) but it seemed like she didn't have to.

The next thing she knew Jacob was coming to her in his wolf form and she found that she liked him like that. She was disgusted; of course, when he licked her but other than that it was nice to know that she wasn't terrified of him. If they were still going to be friends in this reality, then this was definitely a good thing.

She knew it was coming, there was no way that Edward was going to let her stay down there during the battle, but she didn't like hearing Edward and Jacob talking about where they would put her during the fight. She did however, like it when Jacob suggested that Charlie stay with Billy, seeing as there were going to be two young werewolves left behind at the town. She also had to admit that she kind of liked the idea that she could leave a trail for the vampires to find... leading them into a trap. It felt like she was doing something to contribute to this fight.

However, she didn't like the part where Jacob had to carry her. She wouldn't mind it so much if it was the Jacob that she was friends with now, but the Jacob in the book would definitely try to take advantage of the situation... he was already too smug for her liking just carrying her around the clearing. She also didn't mind much that Seth (she sighed when it was confirmed that he was a wolf too) was going to stay with her... at least one kid would be saved from fighting.

She didn't like the title of the next chapter at all, and wondered what it meant. She sighed when she realized how badly her book self seemed to want to be down at the clearing, taking into account how Jasper thought that it would be useful for her to be down there making the newborns crazy (and easier to kill) with thirst. She thought it was a little much, but then realized that she would be doing that if she didn't have Edward's guarantee that everyone was going to be safe.

She would do anything to keep them safe.

"Argh, I really shouldn't be telling you my plans," Bella said after she mentioned convincing Seth to take her to the fight... she seemed to be very determined to get to the clearing.

"Nope, now I'm going to make sure that you don't follow through on them," Edward chuckled.

"I can't believe that Jake is second in command," Bella said. It seemed odd that he would have that much influence on the pack and she wondered if that was still going to happen in this reality.

"Leah's a werewolf too!" Bella said distracted like the book Edward wanted her to be.

"Yeah, that was surprising to us too," Edward chuckled.

"And she has to hear Sam's thoughts... poor Leah," Bella sighed.

"It's more like poor everyone else, what with the way that she spread the misery," Edward said.

"Can you imagine what it would be like to have to share the thoughts with someone you loved... that you might still love at that moment and hear how much they loved someone else?" Bella said. "Not to mention you have to hear how much more they love that person than they ever loved you."

Edward shook his head; his mind going to Bella somehow falling in love with Jacob, and then asking him to stay around so they could be friends, which of course he would do no matter how much it hurt for at least he would be able to see her. She would somehow learn how to lower her barrier to him so he could hear her thoughts only to have them be about the mutt. Yeah, he would be pretty damn bitter if that ever happened. Though, of course, he would never show his bitterness to Bella.

"I see your point," he said and Bella read on, caught up in the pack scandal.

"It's far more interesting with so many wolves involved," she mumbled to herself and Edward chuckled.

However, the book got more serious again and so did she. She really was wondering why she was so insistent on being in the clearing but it made perfect sense when she said she had to be near Edward. It was true she would worry sick about him in any confrontation that he might face, no matter how easy he said it was. He was facing an army of monsters that was actually capable of hurting him. However, when she had guilt him into staying, by using his worst memories against him, she felt horrible.

"I'm so sorry, Edward," Bella sighed out, feeling disappointed in herself.

"Don't be," Edward said softly, he wasn't sorry at all that he was there... he couldn't stand the thought of what might have happened if he was in the clearing and Victoria...

"But I'm being so selfish," Bella said, "I'm taking you away from a fight... a fight that I'm the cause of... that's endangering your family."

"You're not the reason for the fight," Edward said again, rolling his eyes at that statement, "and I promise that my family is in no danger. Besides, you were right, I needed to be with you. Did you see how anxious the book Edward got whenever he was away from you? I don't think he could really have lasted a whole fight worrying about what might have happened to you."

"Maybe," Bella sighed, but she still felt horrible about the way that she had made him agree with her.

She wasn't in such a good mood as she continued reading until she got to the part were Alice had cleared her schedule for the fight. The way that she manipulated Charlie just reminded her so much of Alice now that she had to smile. Charlie really adored her. She smiled even more when she found out that Edward was going to be the one that she was actually alone with. She never got to be totally alone with Edward and she thought she might really enjoy that.

When they got to the fighting lessons again, she was of course feeling guilty for her selfishness. She smiled at the fact that she really could get along with Jacob, finding it easier to be around the giant wolf than it was to be around the boy. Of course she found that odd, but hey, wasn't she always more comfortable around monsters than humans?

She was wondering what compromise they were going to come up with now, and was eager to read the next chapter. She was happy to learn that Angela, Ben, Jessica and Mike were going to be safe because she gave them tickets to a concert and that Charlie was going to be in La Push. Though she had Edward's guarantee that they would be perfectly safe there, it was better that they were gone. And she really liked Edward's suggestion that for this night they didn't worry about anything else and just concentrate on them.

It seemed like this whole book, one thing or another was coming up and she didn't have time to just relax with Edward. She liked hearing that she was ready to be a vampire, and that she really seemed to be this time. Her book self was definitely thinking of this issue more rationally now. She knew exactly what human experience her book self would insist on having... and she quite agreed with that... but that didn't stop her blushing.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked as Bella was steadily turning red and hadn't changed the page in a long time (much longer than she normal would have).

"Yeah, I'm just trying to get all my embarrassment out right now," Bella said.

"Is it working?" Edward laughed at her expression.

"It probably won't, but I don't want to think about your brothers making fun of you or laughing about anything that is about to happen in this chapter," Bella explained. "I don't know if I will be able to stop myself from thinking that but I think... um... I just want to think of this chapter as just being between the two of us..."

"That's probably a good plan," Edward smiled.

"Is it that bad?" Bella blushed even more than she already was, but Edward just smiled at her.

She started reading not too long after that; pushing away all thoughts of all the Cullens reading this book. She was very eager to hear what Edward's reaction to her advances were going to be, especially after what he said when she asked him about this a few weeks ago.

She smiled as she read about how eager he was acting to having her in his house alone. She smiled even wider when it described how excited and apprehensive he was about giving her something. Though she knew she was never going to be fully comfortable receiving things from him, she also knew that she was going to have to let him get her things sometimes. He was just so happy when he did; it was almost like she was the one giving him the gift.

She rolled her eyes at her book self's approach to this conversation, but of course she could understand how nervous she was. She was nervous just reading this and she wasn't facing Edward and his perfection. She wondered how Edward hadn't realized what she was thinking when she was blushing and acting all strangely... didn't he ever want to be with her like that?

And then she was trying to trap him with his promises and trying to show what she meant... it was definitely embarrassing reading this... and she struggled to keep her mind from knowing that Edward's family had read this too... but she just keep reading. She had to know what happened. Edward on the other hand was watching her closely, finding this a lot more fun than he did the first time he read this... he wasn't getting teased for one thing and for the other he knew that this was a possibility and not just some unattainable thing.

Bella sighed as she read her reaction to Edward telling her no. She definitely could understand why she would feel that way... especially after she had made a fool of herself like that, but she could also understand Edward's reasoning. She knew how much he struggled to just be near her and how easily one slip on his part would be the end of her. Still, she agreed with her book self, she knew he couldn't hurt her... that no matter how much stronger than her he was or how appealing she was to him, he wouldn't be able to hurt her because she meant too much to his survival.

"Oh," Bella smiled, "so that's how I get you to do whatever I want... I just plead with you."

Edward rolled his eyes, "Don't act like you didn't already know how to get whatever you want out of me."

"I didn't," Bella informed.

"Well, than I'm glad the book can help you out too, for I've found many useful tips about how to distract you," Edward was smiling her favorite lop sided grin and staring into her eyes. Bella stopped breathing and her heart was pounding before he looked away, a smug smile on his face.

"Point taken," Bella mumbled, still trying to catch her breath before she read again. She bit her lip nervously when he started kissing her, she had thought he would have put up a bigger fight but she was pleased that it wasn't the case... and then he stopped... of course.

"That was mean... kissing me like that knowing you weren't going to go through with it," Bella grumbled. She wondered how her book self was feeling at the moment.

"Sorry, I'm sure that I couldn't stop myself at the moment," Edward sighed, "you are rather irresistible after all."

"Whatever," Bella rolled her eyes and then she read on. "Honestly, Edward, marriage!"

Edward's mouth went thin and Bella narrowed her eyes at his amusement. He didn't say anything to that so she just decided to read.

"You know this kind of makes me look bad," Bella sighed as the conversation went on.

"What do you mean?" Edward asked his tone had lost the amusement he had moments ago.

"I'm going to agree to marry you because I want you to make love to me," Bella said voice getting weaker towards the end of the sentence and she was blushing. "I know that's not the reason why I wanted to be with you for eternity... but don't you think this makes me sound a little s..."

"No!" Edward said firmly before she could finish her sentence. "Bella, love, I understand that you want to be with me forever... and though I don't fully understand why you don't want to marry me, I do get that it's not because you don't want to be with me but with the concept of marriage itself..."

"But, Edward..." Bella tried to say.

"Just keep reading, Bella," Edward said, and she sighed as she did as he asked.

She frowned at first as she continued to try to seduce her vampire boyfriend and he continued to deflect her. She couldn't help but feel that Edward didn't believe that she would marry him if he did make love to her and that hurt. She was a very honest person after all, and she would have thought that he knew that. And then the truth came out and she almost laughed, though luckily managed to stop herself.

"I didn't know you cared so much about virtue," Bella said, trying to keep her tone even.

"It was how I was raised," Edward sighed. "I know the boys today have no such concerns but I was raised to believe that you were supposed to get married before advancing a physical relationship."

"Hm... and I suppose you still think that way... even after this book?" Bella questioned.

"Sorry, but nothing that I've read has made me believe that I was wrong in this thought," Edward smiled at her.

"Hm... I'm going to have to keep that in mind," Bella sighed.

"Are you implying that you would be willing to marry me now after finding this out?" Edward questioned, smiling mischievously at her.

"Well, considering that you've never asked me to marry you, I don't see how that's anything we can discuss," Bella answered and Edward chuckled.

"I haven't asked you _yet_ ," Edward corrected.

"Hm... if you know what's good for you, you won't do that for awhile," Bella answered.

"You still haven't changed your mind about marriage," Edward sighed.

"Not completely, but the more I read the easier it is to believe that I'll be happy marrying you," Bella smiled at him. "I just... it's a lot to take when your only seventeen."

"I know," Edward kissed her softly. "I'll just wait a few weeks until you turn eighteen..."

Bella rolled her eyes at that and his laughter and continued reading. She felt relieved when he mentioned going to Las Vegas, it would be so easy and hardly feel like a marriage at all. However, she knew that wasn't what Edward would want. He had already shown that he cared about things like weddings and marriages... she wasn't sure if he would like to think about their wedding as being in a hokey wedding chapel in Las Vegas.

She smiled when she was reading about the wedding ring and the fact that it fit her finger without being re-sized. She could feel the pride coming off Edward because of that thought. She sighed when he knelt down and officially asked her to marry him. Terror and anticipation filled her when she thought about what she was going to do when he did ask her... and she knew he was going to. She knew she couldn't answer no, there was no way that would happen, not when he really asked her and not just as a way to keep her from becoming a vampire. She had a suspicion that she was going to answer with a more sappy response than he would imagine her capable of.

"Edward, just promise me that you won't ask me to marry you before the end of this year," Bella sighed as she finished the chapter.

"I suppose I can promise that," Edward said, kissing the top of her head. "Why?"

"I don't want to worry about you popping the question every time I see you," Bella shrugged. "Besides, I think you should go out with a girl for at least a year before you ask them to marry you."

"I don't know where you come up with these rules, but I promise to wait," Edward said as he rolled his eyes.

Bella read the next chapter and rolled her eyes when Alice tried to manipulate her into having a real wedding. Oh, she knew that Alice was going to win that fight, for she thought she could be stubborn, she also knew how dirty Alice fought when she wanted something. The truth was that she didn't really think it would make that much of a difference, except for the fact that the whole town would know if Alice had her way, a thought that made her shudder.

"That heart was a diamond!" Bella said looking at Edward.

"It might be," Edward sighed, "but remember, it's a hand me down."

Bella took a deep breath... didn't she just think that she wasn't going to make a big deal out of him giving her gifts. But a diamond! That big! Argh, did he really have to be that ridiculous about his gifts?

She had to laugh at the thought of Emmett marrying them. That would be hilarious and she had half a mind to insist that when they did get married that he do the honors. She smiled at her own actions as she left a trail, and she could feel Edward's chuckle as he read over her shoulder. She really seemed to be going all out on this, didn't she?

"Edward?" Bella questioned as she read about how he didn't react to her bleeding anymore. She had read that whole part and now had a question she wanted to ask. "Um... I know that you've learned to handle my scent better... but... well... I was just wonder if..."

"I have almost as much control as my book self," Edward finished the question for her, looking sad. "I seriously doubt that I have _as much_. I know reading these books has helped me... but I've never almost lost you... not really. And yet I have gone through a significant change reading these books... falling in love with you well before I met you only to realize that being around you in reality shows how little I understood then...

"Even after the warning, I was surprised at how powerful my feelings for you were, and it's physically painful for me to be away from you," he went on. He was staring into Bella's eyes as he said this. "I might not be quite as in control as my book self, for I've never experienced the pain of loss... for I know that pain would be far more excruciating than I could ever imagine... but I know how much I love you now and I promise I'll never let that side of me get the better of me."

Bella didn't say anything for a long time; she was caught in his intense gaze as she listened to his amazing words. She was speechless, but that didn't stop her from leaning towards him and kissing him...

"I know," Bella said as he pulled her away from him, she was panting as she placed her head on his chest. "I've always known you wouldn't hurt me, Edward."

He chuckled and they just stayed like that for a while before Bella's curiosity got the better of her and she felt the need to read again.

Bella sighed as soon as Jacob got there and the tension in the book picked up again immediately. She hated how he acted in front of Edward; she really did wish they could just get along. She felt uncomfortable at the subject that they had chosen to talk about... she would rather forget the kiss that Jacob had forced upon her. She didn't like Jacob's attitude as he talked about this either, he was apologizing, somewhat, but he still didn't really seem sorry. And, argh... why would she want to think about that? His argument about not being sure what she really wanted because she's never kissed anyone else was ridiculous... she didn't need to kiss anyone else to know that Edward was the only one that she wanted. When you found your soul mate... your other half... nothing else mattered.

She frowned when Jacob said you can be in love with more than two people at once... she didn't really believe that but at the same time she knew there was something going on with her book self. She was doing too many things that the Bella in the room felt were wrong and she was finding herself more and more apprehensive about what was going to happen.

She was still thinking about this when her book self asked Jacob to stay out of the fight. It felt odd asking him to do that, much different than it did with Edward. Yes, she was still guilty about asking him to stay with her, but at the same time he was her boyfriend and it made sense they would stick together. Why was she asking her friend to ditch his pack and stay with her? Because she didn't want him hurt. She sighed, knowing that she really didn't want Jacob in this fight knowing the dangers he was going to be facing.

"Huh... do you think Sam is going to offer Jacob to take over as Alpha this time around, too," Bella asked, distracted from her thoughts as she read that because of Jacob's heritage he was supposed to lead the pack.

"I'm not sure," Edward said. "It probably won't be until Jacob has learned to control himself as a wolf that this issue would even come up. After that... well, I think it depends on how everyone ends up feeling about us."

"Seriously," Bella said, "it seems like Jacob is supposed to be the Alpha though."

"True," Edward agreed. "But Sam and the other Quileutes are still rather afraid of us... I'm not sure if they would want to follow someone that has a more lenient attitude towards us... assuming Jacob will still feel that way in the future... I don't think Jacob would want to be the leader, especially if he would have to take it from Sam."

"I suppose that makes sense," Bella nodded her head and started reading again, moving on to the next chapter.

She sighed at the fact that she was freezing and how uncomfortable that made Edward. She knew he would hate the fact that he was making her colder than she already was. She groaned not too long after that when Jacob came into the tent and went into her sleeping bag. What the hell? Okay, so she knew he was right about the whole warming up thing, but dammit why did she have to be so close to Jacob like that when Edward was there? And then knowing that Jacob was thinking something that she really didn't want to know more about made her cringe.

She was, however, caught off guard about Jacob's response to why he was so furry and she laughed out loud. She could just picture what Jacob looked like when he first phased; he would be so furry that it would look like one giant fur ball... no one would be able to see any distinguishing features.

She read her _'dream'_ (knowing full well this conversation must really have happened) closely. Edward and Jacob were at least acting civil to each other, but there was obviously tension there that she'd never noticed in this reality. That gave her hope that things weren't so bad with Jacob and they still could be friends.

Still, seeing as Jacob was trying to persuade Edward this whole time that he would be the better one for her, she wasn't too pleased with the conversation. Honestly, one would think that Jacob would realize that she was the one that chose who her boyfriend was and it wasn't right for him to try to make it for her by trying to make Edward leave. And if he did manage to make Edward leave (she shivered at the very thought and Edward tightened his grip around her, instantly making her relax), she wouldn't run to Jacob. He would have been the one that had ruined her life and happiness forever for his own selfish reasons.

As she was thinking this she was also thinking how upset Edward must have been about what had been going on in this book. How he confirmed his insecurities about her relationship with Jacob. She felt worse than ever hearing what she had put him through by being so oblivious. She really hated it when Edward admitted he was afraid that she would choose Jacob over him. It was ridiculous of course. Edward would always come first and the fact that he could think it showed how horrible she had been.

She was slightly intrigued to hear the different options Edward thought there was for their relationship. She wondered how he could believe the first option was possible, who wouldn't love Edward back? And the second option was hard for her to imagine. It would feel wrong to grow old and to be with Edward, who would always be seventeen. The only good thing in that plan was that Edward would always be in her life. This made it a billion times better than the ridiculously stupid option number three. Seriously, how could he think leaving her would be okay? Then there was option four which would always be her favorite. She had to become a vampire. She could feel that was the right option for her.

Then Jacob was talking about the game plan he was going to use while Edward was gone as she was recovering. She wasn't really sure what would have happened then, if Edward had never come back and she was left as a shell of her former self, but she feared it wouldn't have been anything like Jacob was planning. For Jacob planned that she would love him more than she ever loved Edward and that wasn't possible. Jacob was fighting a battle he'd lost before he even started fighting, hurting everyone in his path and what was worse, she was letting him.

She read as they wrapped up their friendly conversation (at least friendly for these books) as Edward talked of the third wife and she had to agree with him; she would definitely imitate the third wife if she was put into a similar situation.

She shivered at the next title, wondering if it was going to be about the fight or some other kind of monster, having a feeling it was going to be the latter. She shivered again when Edward and Jacob had nearly come to blows. She really didn't want them to fight each other.

She smiled as they talked about their ten top nights. She agreed that most of the nights the book seemed to pick were good, but she couldn't help but think of her own top ten moments with Edward.

"What are you thinking?" Edward questioned, there was smile on his face, but Bella could see pain in his eyes and she didn't know why it was there.

"Just the top ten moments of being with you," Bella answered, and watched as his eyes twinkled with merriment, but the sadness didn't entirely leave his eyes. She was panicking now... what was making him so sad? Was someone going to get hurt... die... or was it something else? Something just as devastating to him? She couldn't imagine what it was so she started reading the book again and immediately felt her stomach drop. She knew that it was because of her. Whatever was about to happen... whatever she was about to do... was seriously going to hurt him.

She read as her book self reacted to Jacob's pain to hearing that Edward and she were going to get married. How she told Edward to get Jacob so she could explain... knowing there could be no explanation that he would want to hear... that it was a mistake to want him to come back. Cringing when her book self thought of the fight happening before Edward and Jacob could get there and cringing more when Jacob and she were alone. For she knew the bad thing was coming, so before she read anymore she turned to Edward.

"Edward..." she said not sure what to say but as she looked at him, still seeing him trying to mask his pain, "I... do... you really want to be here for this?"

Edward eyes widened in surprise before he nodded his head.

"I know I'm going to do something terrible," Bella mumbled, moving away from him, feeling horrible about the pain she was already putting him through. "I don't want to hurt you more."

"I can't leave, Bella," Edward whispered, and as he did so he wrapped his arms around her again, resting his head on her shoulder.

"But..." Bella made to argue.

"I can't leave knowing that you will be hurt," Edward said softly, and then he tried to kiss her but she moved away.

"Don't," Bella mumbled she didn't feel she deserved being kissed right now. "Are you sure...?"

"There's nothing in this world that could make me leave if I know you're going to be hurt in any way," Edward said firmly, but his voice was still a whisper. And she knew that was true, even if she tried pleading with him he wouldn't leave her right now...

So she read and with each passing word felt worse. She was shocked when Jacob said that he would take himself out of the equation... implying that he would lose the fight. She couldn't believe that he would ever do something so drastic... he had so much to live for. He shouldn't go throwing away his life. But as she kept reading, she realized that he really wouldn't do that. He couldn't. Not while the fight was going on for Jacob couldn't let his pack brother down like that (not to mention all the wolves would know what he was thinking and Sam would have ordered him not to), as well as Billy. No, it just didn't make sense.

She felt a little angry as she started realizing what he was trying to do. That he was trying to make her kiss him by saying that he was going to die if she didn't give him something to fight for. This Jacob was far more manipulative than she would have guessed. She was angry with herself for going along with it, though not because she believe that she would have done anything different in that situation (it was so much easier seeing things just reading, she had more time to think everything through). She was angry at her book self for asking Jacob to kiss her. She was betraying Edward too easily...

Then she was numb... she felt cold, and not because of Edward's arms that were wrapped around her reminding her what terrible crime her book self was committing right now.

She was kissing Jacob back.

It was wrong, but it was nothing to her thoughts... her admissions that she loved Jacob. It wasn't right... she knew she couldn't love him... It was blasphemy to love anyone other than Edward.

That wasn't the worst part of the chapter though... the worst part was the vision of the other path. The fact that she could ever imagine another life for herself that didn't include Edward. She dropped the book as she read this and curled up into a ball.

Of course Edward immediately pulled her closer to him and she struggled against his grip. She didn't deserve to be comforted by him right now. Not when she was the one that caused this pain. But Edward wouldn't let her go, and he wouldn't let her beat herself up about this. He was perfect.

"E-Edward," she said, her voice thick with the tears she was shedding. "Why d-did you e-even want to m-meet me... After I-I..."

"Shh..." Edward said softly, stroking her hair. He had to admit reading this again hurt. However, for his own part, it wasn't nearly as bad reading it the second time, knowing how the story was going to end. Watching Bella's reaction to this however, was harder. He could see that she loathed herself and he hated that.

"Bella, my sweet Bella..." Edward said softly.

"D-don't," Bella groaned, shivering at his undeserved sweetness towards her. "I'm a m-monster!"

"You most certainly are not a monster," Edward said soothingly. Neither one of them spoke for a long time as Bella continued to cry, hating herself for ever hurting Edward as she knew she did. It was hours later, when she was finally able to say something again.

"I don't understand why you met me," Bella repeated what she said earlier, wiping the tears from her eyes and looking at Edward. He could tell by her tone it wasn't the same question as before. She wasn't asking why he would want to meet her after she did something like this to him. "I would have thought that after reading something like this you would have thought I could be happy with J... someone else," Bella said, her voice sounded dead as the tears started falling from her eyes again. It hurt to say this... to think of her not being in his life.

"I did think that," Edward said. "I was convinced that you would have been better off never meeting me," his voice was pained as he wiped away the new tears from her eyes. "I believed that you could live a normal life without me interfering in it and because you never met me you would be happy. And I would have done that, if I knew you were going to be better that way. But Alice and Carlisle convinced me to read the last book... that I owed it to you to seeing this through to the end.

"They were right to do that, Bella, because I learned that you are meant to be in my life. I was right to go after you because you were always supposed to be my mate," he said firmly looking into her eyes before resting his forehead against hers. Bella cried more than ever. She was now feeling equal measures of love and astonishment and loathing for what she had done. And Edward moved so his head was now resting on top of hers as he held her tightly for her, though of course not too tightly to him.

They stayed like that until Charlie's car pulled up and Bella was forced to get up and go to the kitchen. There were a few leftovers in the fridge and she took her time heating them as Edward distracted Charlie by talking about the upcoming game. She loved that he knew that she needed the time to calm herself down. She loved that he always knew what to say to make her feel better. And she did feel better, but she still felt terrible about what her book self had done. She really was going to have to make sure nothing like this happened. She would never hurt Edward like this in this reality. Though at the moment she felt like she didn't deserve him, she loved him more for being there.

Charlie definitely noticed that she was down, and seemed to be watching her closely as they ate their dinner. Edward had left to go home, apparently his Volvo was outside, and he had to take it home. Bella was sure that Alice saw that Edward would need the proof that he had driven and she was grateful; she wouldn't have wanted to go through the facade of 'driving' him home in her truck. Still, when she got upstairs only fifteen minutes after Edward had left, he was in her room waiting for her. His expression was anxious, and he wrapped her into a hug before she could say anything.

"Don't force yourself to read if you don't want to," Edward said as Bella reached for the book.

"I have to read," Bella said, "I needed to know what happens that made you change your mind... I need to see there really is a happy ending."

"Okay," Edward sighed, stroking her head and Bella started reading again, immediately assaulted by her thoughts, she empathized with them completely. She cringed when she realized that Edward was going to hear what Jacob had thought about what happened (via Seth). Of course Edward was understanding. He would want her to be happy. He wouldn't blame her for being such a cheat. And then she tried to make him fight for her, and kissing him in all the wrong ways... she didn't want anything to happen because she was feeling guilty or because she needed to prove something. And of course it was Edward who had pointed that out.

She was almost happy when the fight broke out and she had something else to think about. She could worry about her family to dilute some of her guilt. And then Victoria was there and she felt herself tense up.

"You can see now why I'm glad that I stayed with you," Edward said as she read this.

"She said that she followed your scent here," Bella said, "but if I didn't make you stay with me then..."

"Do you really think I would have let you stay there that night by yourself... or with only a werewolf," Edward shook his head. "I would have stayed with you and then left to go to the fight. I would have led her right to you and not even been there to protect you."

"So that's one less thing I have to feel guilty about," Bella sighed, bowing her head to read again. As terrifying as the fight was it was also interesting to see how Edward fought... how he used his opponents' thoughts against them. She was definitely afraid for Seth's safety and then for Edward's when he really started fighting. She felt completely justified in the fact that she picked up a rock so she could try to distract the vampires. Seth was injured and she didn't know what was happening with Edward. Her distraction would help.

Edward didn't seem to agree with that. He was rather upset that she would hurt herself, but Bella didn't really care, because Seth was talking care of the Riley guy and Edward was winning his fight with Victoria and before she knew it both fights were over and she was safe.

She was mystified by why Edward kept on telling her that she was okay and not to worry. She snorted when he said he thought she thought he was going to hurt her, as if that thought could ever cross her mind. All she cared about was that Edward was okay and safe, along with Seth, and now finding out how everyone else was. She was relieved again when he said that no one was hurt.

"You and Seth seemed to have really hit it off," Bella said smiling at that.

"Yes," Edward chuckled with a fond smile. "I really like that kid."

"That's nice to know... that a wolf that was raised to hate you was able to overcome that," Bella said.

"Yes," Edward agreed, "he has a very open mind."

And then something happened and Edward was groaning in pain and her heart was hammering to hear what happened to him. It was almost a relief to find out that it was because someone was attacking them, but of course she felt sorry for the wolf that had been hurt.

As soon as she thought that she knew that it was Jacob that was hurt. She felt a little resentful that after tricking her into kissing him (which made her feel worse than she ever had before for her betrayal) he didn't even have the decency to not get hurt. But of course he did it to save one of his pack brothers... well sister actually... and she couldn't really blame him for that.

She felt nervous when Edward said the Volturi was there. Did they really need something else to worry about then? Then she fainted because Jacob was hurt and she was feeling guilty again.

"A lot of things happened to you that day," Edward said soothingly, "it was too much for you to take."

She relaxed a little and started reading again. It picked up in the clearing where the Cullens had been fighting with the wolves. She could see that everyone was there and safe and she smiled.

"There's a newborn there!" Bella said, shocked.

"Yes, it is shocking," Edward sighed.

"She's not going to survive is she?" Bella sighed, too.

"No, the Volturi wouldn't allow something like that," Edward frowned. "Though it was no fault of the girl's, she had participated in an illegal act... the penalty is death."

"That's too bad," Bella said, and though she was terrified of what the girl might do to her, or other humans out there, she thought it was wrong to punish her for something she had no control over.

"Am I going to be like her when I change?" Bella added as she read more about this girl and how crazy she seemed to get just smelling Bella's scent.

"Well, you'll just have to see when we get there," Edward answered with an amused smile.

Bella read then about the Volturi and frowned during the conversation. She definitely didn't like them. The way that Jane took pleasure in torturing the girl even after she knew she would get whatever she wanted out of her. It was just wrong.

"They knew... they know about the army and then let it carry on just in hopes that they would have hurt your family!" Bella said hotly. "How can they do that?"

"Aro fears us," Edward explained, his tone was even but as she looked into his eyes she saw that he was just as upset about this as she was.

"Ha," Bella said as Jane failed at hurting her. She was still upset about this whole Volturi thing and anything to annoy them was a plus. This was why she smiled smugly when Alice said that she was going to be changed soon and Jane's threat wasn't as effective. And then the Volturi were gone and she had to go back to a much harder subject to deal with. Her horrible behavior with Jacob.

Again she went back to hating herself. For being so insanely worried about Jacob. Though it was making the Bella in the room worried too. She really hoped he would be okay. She was distracted a little when the newborn was mentioned and she wondered again what she would be like when she turned. And she was interested in Alice's theories on how her ability worked.

"Do you think that's true, that no one can affect me with their thoughts?" Bella questioned.

"I know it's true," Edward said pointing to his head. "You're very special, Bella."

She cringed at Charlie's version of what happened. From how Billy acted on the boat, to the wolves howling in pain only to suddenly break off into Jacob cursing. She wondered briefly why Charlie didn't realize what was really going on here, but in truth even with something as obviously as that no would believe the person and the wolf were one and the same. She was happy to hear that the Quileutes let Carlisle help Jacob, the relationship between the two parties seemed to be getting better.

She really liked it when Charlie called Edward a decent guy. It was nice that her book dad was finally starting to come around to Edward. Then Charlie was telling her how he knew that he was going to be losing her soon and that he wanted a proper goodbye. She felt so sad about this, knowing one day she was going to have a similar talk with her dad and she was really going to miss him. She knew that she had to give him that, give him a goodbye and let him know that she would be happy.

Then she was at the Blacks' and she was talking to Jacob and she was starting to feel awful again. Her book self had finally realized all the mistakes she had made far too late, but now she was trying to do the right thing. She had to cut Jacob out of her life. This talk with Jacob wouldn't have been nearly as bad if she didn't know that the Cullens had read it. Yes, she was letting him down, but at the same time she was telling him how much she loved Jacob, and that it wouldn't be enough, but enough to hurt all of them, especially Edward.

She wasn't sure she could agree with Jacob's statement about him being the one she was supposed to be with if there was no monsters or magic. She could understand what he meant, but she hadn't fallen in love with that boy, and so she couldn't see that she was meant to be with anyone but Edward.

"I called him my soul mate..." Bella muttered horrified and felt worse when Edward shuddered. "Sorry..."

"No, it's okay," Edward sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose, and he could see those words move in front of his eyes.

Bella sighed and then said, "You're my soul mate, Edward... I don't know what my book self was thinking for there isn't anything more powerful than a soul mate. And the proof is in the fact that you exist in this time even though in all logic you should have died years ago. You're alive... turned into a vampire so you can find me... so you can complete my life."

Edward smiled at her, at the tears in her eyes and kissed her. She didn't turn from him this time; she had just confessed so much to him... she had just told him the exact way he felt towards her that he had to kiss her.

She was reluctant to read what was coming next, for it was going to have her feeling horrible again, but she had to finish this book. She hated it when Jacob had said that Edward was like a drug to her, especially when she thought of _New Moon_ and she had practically used Jacob like a drug.

She thought about what she said about wanting the vision she had about Jacob (and after she was done cringing for the pain she knew she caused Edward) she wondered what it meant. She had never thought of things like that before, especially the family part. She still didn't think about it now, but she tried to do it now.

She shivered as she saw a little boy that didn't have black hair, but a reddish brown, for there was only one person she would ever want to be the father of her child. She shook her head from that thought as a tear fell down her check. It was wrong of her to think that, when she knew there was no possibility of having a child with Edward. It wouldn't do if she longed for a child with him... perhaps this was why she had insisted that she didn't want children, for she would miss the ones she knew she couldn't have with Edward.

"What's the matter?" Edward asked, but she just shook her head, not wanting him to feel badly about this train of thought.

She read again quickly after that, only half listening to what was going on. She didn't know why that part stuck out to her, about Jacob imprinting on someone else. She knew it would be a good thing, and if she found out who that person was in the book, perhaps she could introduce her to Jacob and maybe she could still be friends with him. But there was something about this that didn't make her feel right.

If she thought the last chapter was bad, she felt worse at the beginning of this chapter. She was crying over Jacob, which was bad enough to read, but then Edward was comforting her and she felt worse. It was like how she felt guilty now, having Edward there. She shouldn't put him through something like that when she was the one that caused the trouble in the first place.

"I never would have left you," Edward whispered in her ear. It didn't make her feel better, because she knew he was right, but it didn't make it right.

She continued to cry in the book, hours of crying on Edward's shoulder over another boy. And he was wondering if she was making the right choice for he didn't know that when he left she was a million times worse than this. She was hurt now, but when he left she was only a shell of herself. She shivered when she read Cathy's words in the book, knowing that was how she felt about Edward.

Then they were out of the house and talking to Alice about the wedding. It was odd how appealing thinking about the wedding was compared to thinking about the Jacob situation.

"Hm... Alice better not think about changing my dress," Bella mumbled when she read about it.

"I didn't expect that," Edward said chuckling, and his eyes twinkled like they hadn't for most of the day. "I didn't think you would care about anything about our wedding."

"I would have thought that as well," Bella turned to face him. "But it does sound perfect."

"I agree," Edward smiled and kissed her forehead before letting Bella read again.

She liked that they were going back to their meadow. She loved their meadow and it always seemed to make her feel better. She rolled her eyes when Edward had said the wedding was off and that he didn't want to dictate the way things went anymore because it only made things worse. She flushed when she read how he tried to persuade her. She almost smiled at this too. Maybe it wouldn't be so hard to persuade him to forget about his whole virtue issue in this reality.

"If I have to marry you, Edward, then this really is the best way of doing things," Bella said.

"Well, you're going to have to marry me," Edward smiled at her. "But pray tell why does it have to happen this way?"

"I think my book self said it all," Bella rolled her eyes. "Plus if you think about it this is just like when you give me a gift."

"Um... I'm not following you there," Edward said looking confused.

"Well, I was thinking early on... you know when you gave me that bracelet... that diamond bracelet," Bella said, rolling her eyes a little. "I was thinking that it would be worth it letting you get me things because it makes you happy. Well that's the same with getting married. It would make you happy if we get married."

"Hm... it sounds like I'm the only one that's happy in this situation," Edward frowned.

"Argh, don't you get it, Edward?" Bella said sitting up and staring into his eyes with a breathtaking smile, "It makes me happy when I see that you're happy. I love it when you're happy."

Edward smiled at her before she leaned in to kiss him.

She really wished that was the end of the book, but first she had to mention they had to talk to Charlie about this. Argh, she was definitely not going to enjoy that conversation. Nor the one she was going to have with her mom.

"This is Jacob's point of view?" Bella said as she got to the last chapter. "I wonder why that is."

"No idea," Edward shrugged. "It's just how the book was written."

"You told Jacob about the wedding, even after I said I didn't want him to know!" Bella groaned.

"I'm sorry, but I feel he really deserved to know this," Edward sighed.

"He ran away, Edward, how was him knowing about the wedding helpful at all?" Bella questioned frowning.

"I don't know," Edward shrugged.

"Well that was the end of the book," Bella put it down. "I didn't really like that one."

"Nor do I," Edward agreed. "Though there were some good chapters in it."

"I suppose," Bella said. "I suppose I should read the next book now."

"Why don't we just talk?" Edward said. "I know you want to know what happens... but it's getting late and..."

"Okay, Edward, let's talk," Bella smiled at him and they talked about lots of things, none of which had anything to do with the heartache that was the last book.

 **A/N: Okay that took forever again. And it is so much more work writing twice a week. These chapters are a lot easier to write in the sense that I don't have to plan anything I'm just writing reactions, but man is there a lot of things that I have to put in there. Anyways, I just wanted to say that I personally liked Eclipse (though I had Edward and Bella saying they didn't) and at times it's my favorite, though it really is impossible to say what my real favorite book of the series is because they all have moments that are really awesome and I get excited about reading. Anyway, the next chapter will be up on Friday and it will be the first half (I'm assuming books one and two) of Breaking Dawn.**


	20. Reading Breaking Dawn Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty

Reading Breaking Dawn Part One

Bella woke up the next morning feeling better than she thought she would have after everything that happened in the books. She figured the books must have been sent here for a reason; that maybe both Edward and she had to learn from them and that it seemed that they already had. Still, she was dying to know what was going to happen in the last book. She was sure of a few things that were going to happen, like she was going to marry Edward and she was going to be turned into a vampire. She wondered if either of those things was the reason he was convinced without a shadow of a doubt that they belonged together or if it was something else. By the time she got to that thought she was downstairs, had finished her breakfast and was heading towards the couch to read.

"You're eager to read this book aren't you," Edward smiled as he sat down, opening his arms for her.

"Obviously, I really need to see how this is going to end," Bella smiled back at him and opened the book. She found the preface to be oddly un-terrifying, for she knew what this was talking about (at least she thought she did).

She sighed at the next chapter's title, she was coming around to the idea of marriage, that was for sure, but that didn't mean she wanted to be engaged.

"You better not have touched my truck!" Bella said when she got to that part. She had been slowly getting more uncomfortable as she read about the new car she was driving (and all the attention it was getting).

"I wouldn't know if I had or not," Edward informed her looking innocent.

"Hm..." Bella huffed; she didn't buy his innocent look for one second. "Well, I know how to solve this problem; I'm not going to make a ridiculous deal like that."

Edward pouted at her but she just ignored him. "I thought you said you would accept gifts from me..."

"I wasn't talking about a car, Edward!" Bella was really glaring at him now. "You are not to get me any vehicles, is that understood?"

"I suppose," Edward sighed.

After glaring at him some more she started to read again. She felt badly that she cared so much about what everyone thought about her getting married to Edward. That shouldn't be what mattered, but she knew it did. She didn't want to be the center of everyone's gossip, especially about something that she was raised to fear.

She shot another glare at Edward, who was trying to look innocent again, but was altogether much too amused to pull it off, when she got to the strangers taking a picture of the car. She groaned as she read that it had missile proof glass.

"Is that a joke?" Bella whispered darkly.

"I doubt it," Edward chuckled. "You know how seriously I take your safety."

Bella growled at him before reading again. "And you got me another car too!"

"What can I say?" Edward shrugged and Bella took a deep breath to calm herself down. She sighed when she read that Jacob was still missing and groaned when she discovered that she was checking up on him so much. She should probably have just left him alone at this point, but she had to admit that she would be really worried if her friend was off on his own like that.

She tensed when she read about how Charlie would take the news that she was going to marry Edward. It was all too easy to picture his every reaction to this bit of information and she knew she would, at some point, have to have this conversation with her real dad. She hoped it would go better than this; though to be honest this wasn't as bad as she feared. No one was shot at least. She was a little upset when Charlie laughed and threatened her with Renee's reaction.

"Argh... I can't believe it!" Bella nearly shouted as she read the anticlimactic reaction her mom had. "After all that talk... all that complaining and telling me it wasn't smart... she says that!"

Edward just chuckled at her rant.

"Of course you would find this funny," Bella huffed. "But can't you see that it would have saved us a lot of trouble if she wouldn't have made me think that getting married at such a young age was the worst thing in the world?"

"But you do know that now, so it is saving us a lot of trouble," Edward pointed out with a smirk. "And maybe now you won't have to be so terrified of getting married to me."

"Good luck with that one," Bella grumbled before reading again. Though she was still upset with Renee's reaction to the marriage, she did have to smile at the way that she seemed to get along so well with Esme.

"Ah... Alice is going to be a nightmare," Bella sighed.

"Even worse than she normally is," Edward agreed, frowning as well. "She's always the worst at the first wedding..."

"How many times do you think I'm going to marry you?" Bella exclaimed.

"I don't know," Edward shrugged. "It's up to you, but I'm okay as long as you marry me at least once."

"Well, don't expect any more from me," Bella warned him before reading again. As she listened to the concerns about becoming a vampire, she sighed; it was hard to believe that she could ever want anything more than she wanted Edward, but she knew when she was first turned the thirst was going to be very powerful.

She moved on to the next chapter and smiled and blushed as she read about her and Edward. She sighed however when Edward mentioned how Charlie had thought she was pregnant. She didn't want to think about that right now, because she was happy with Edward and thinking of such things as that would only make them both unhappy.

She grumbled when Jasper and Emmett showed up and took Edward away to his bachelor party.

"Really, Edward, what do you do on a bachelor party?" Bella asked.

"It's like Jasper said, we just go hunting," Edward chuckled. "Emmett is usually way too inappropriate with his comments, even more than usual. But still, we have some nice brotherly time, for after the wedding we won't see each other for months..."

"Months?" Bella said a little shocked.

"Depending on the time of year and other things," Edward shrugged. "They all liked to spend a significant time period alone together each time they get married."

Bella's cheeks heated up at the thought of spending a month, maybe more, with Edward…alone.

"A penny for your thoughts," Edward whispered to her with a very smug smile. Bella just blushed more than ever before pulling the book closer to her and trying to make sense of the words that were on the page.

"Is that what you meant about hoping that I would meet Tanya's family before I transform... that it would be at our wedding?" Bella questioned Edward.

"I would think they would like to see that," Edward smiled, though of course he was thinking of a more serious reason than just this. Bella looked at him closely, seeing that he had an ulterior motive to this and wondering what that was but she didn't question him about it.

As she read on she felt uncomfortable about her dream. The immortal child with its chilling eyes and yet compelling beauty would be terrible. It wouldn't be hard to imagine anyone would protect someone like that with their lives. She could also understand why the Volturi would make them illegal to create seeing as they would have no control whatsoever. She felt bad that Edward's extended family had lost their mother in such a brutal way. And yet she still felt apprehensive dreaming about this. She wondered why she was dreaming this way and was fearful that Edward might have been right that she did want that. She tried not to think about that knowing it would be no good to want it.

She went on to the next chapter trying to stop herself from sighing knowing that it was going to be about her wedding. She was wondering though, whether this was going to be as bad as she feared or if she would end up liking it better than she expected to. It didn't make her feel any better reading about Alice and her excitement. She could empathize with how horrid that ordeal was going to be.

"It seems Rosalie is starting to come around to me," Bella said as she read about the blond vampire helping her out. She would expect nothing less in this reality, but it was a little unexpected in the book. As she thought this she wondered if she was going to have two excited vampire sisters at her wedding and cringed, seriously hoping that Rosalie wouldn't kick up her excitement.

Though she was still a little mad at her mom's reactions, she smiled as Renee came into the story. She loved her mom and missed her terribly. She also had to smile when Charlie was there too... in his monkey suit as he called it, and how happy they were when they were giving her the combs that had belonged to her grandmother. However, seeing as this led to Alice giving her a garter which she proceeded to put on her book self with vampire speed, but she still felt herself blushing a little.

She could feel Edward's chest rumble slightly at this and she looked up at him and was shocked by the look she saw on his face. He wasn't amused as she had thought he would be, and he wasn't smug, no, he was completely content... he looked like he couldn't wait for this day to come. Though it was a little frightening thinking of that, she felt she liked the smile he had and turned back to the book so she could continue reading.

She smiled at how easy it seemed to get married to Edward. How all her panicking stopped when she saw him and she was at home in his arms. The ordeal she had to go through with Alice didn't matter, and the fact that she was going to be gossip wouldn't really matter in the end, for she would be with Edward forever. In the end, wasn't he all that really mattered?

"You seem happy," Edward said smugly.

"It wasn't as bad as I feared," Bella shrugged, trying not to show her feelings, but she was sure it was already too late for that. He kissed the top of her head and she snuggled closer to him. She stayed like this as she continued to read the next chapter.

She smiled at the fact that Seth was there and that he really did seem happy for them. It was a nice change of pace to what all the other werewolves seemed to think about her family. She was happy, too, that Billy and Sue were there, though of course they didn't seem to be enjoying themselves that much.

As she was meeting Edward's _cousins_ she felt herself grow a little annoyed at the way Tanya was acting towards Edward. However, as soon as Edward declared her his wife she blushed. She could imagine the way his voice would sound saying those words and she smiled. She was slightly disappointed when the Denalis left, for she was hoping to get to know them better, but she supposed she would just have to wait until she met them in this life.

She cringed upon hearing Edward eating the cake and she vowed to tell him that he didn't have to do that for their real wedding. She smiled as Angela caught her bouquet, and smiled at the thought of her and Ben getting married. She blushed fiercely at how Edward took off her garter. Did he really have to do that? Again she felt Edward chuckling and this time she glared at him (finding his expression filled with amused pride).

She sighed but smiled as they danced, it just seemed right being with Edward liked that. She smiled again, though this time sadly, as she danced with Charlie... it was going to be really hard to handle when this happened. And then she was being passed around, dancing with everyone and she was glad when Edward came back because she didn't really want to think about dancing with all those people. And then she was looking at herself through the window and she could appreciate how lovely she must have looked and admitted that it was probably worth getting tortured by Alice to look that way.

"Jacob came," Bella sighed, wondering if this was such a good thing or not. She really would want her friend at her wedding but not if it was going to be too hard on him.

She read the conversation they had and she could almost smile at it, it did feel more like the relationship she shared with the boy now. Then she blushed when she talked about having a real honeymoon with Edward to Jacob... that so wasn't any of his business. And it was made all the worse by the way he reacted to the piece of information. She got mad at his insistence that it was wrong and his calling Edward a monster for even thinking about doing it. It wasn't right... she knew it was what she wanted. Edward wouldn't hurt her and it was none of Jacob's business. She groaned when the book Edward seemed to grow grave at this, after hearing Jacob thoughts, which were probably worse than his words.

She tried to give Edward a sly look, wondering what his expression would be like, but Edward seemed to have noticed and had already arranged his features so he would give nothing away. Sighing, she continued reading. She sighed again as she realized that she allowed the Jacob issue to affect their wedding. She shouldn't have gone to talk to him. But there was nothing to do about it now, and she was pleased that she was able to put it out of her mind and enjoy the rest of her wedding.

Bella was a bit annoyed at Alice's insistence that they leave. It seemed like Alice wouldn't stand for even the tiniest of details to be messed with that day. She smiled sadly again when she said goodbye to her parents, knowing that it was really goodbye for her book self. It was especially hard to hear that Charlie was crying; showing an odd display of emotion.

"Why didn't you just tell me where we were going? Why all the secrecy?" Bella grumbled as she read about how they got to the island.

Edward chuckled at that. "Well, I'm not going to be able to be so secretive in this reality, seeing as you already know where I'm planning on taking you."

"That's good to know," Bella smiled and then continued to read. "Was the island really a gift?"

"Yes," Edward chuckled again. "Carlisle spent a considerable amount of money to buy that island and make sure that no one can go there without his permission. Only a few people in the world know about this island and it's a nice place where we can be completely alone."

"I like the sound of that," Bella chuckled too and then started reading eagerly, though she was starting to get nervous about what was surely going to happen in this chapter. She felt her temperature raise as she read on and yet she felt at ease hearing that Edward was nervous too. Of course she was a bundle of nerves again when her book self started worrying about what she should wear and how she would react to Edward... It didn't help at all that Edward's chest was vibrating and she knew how amused he was... nor that it reminded her once again that Edward's family had read this. She would have preferred if this had stayed just between the two of them.

And then she was on the beach with him and it was the most natural thing in the word and she felt herself smiling widely just thinking about that. How they fit together perfectly... as if they were made for each other. She felt immensely grateful that they were able to be together physically while she was still human and she was looking forward to the day she would actually be able to be with Edward. She was also grateful that the book didn't describe what happened between them... she wanted to find out for herself.

"Oh my God, Edward, what are you doing?" Bella exclaimed as she read about his attitude afterward.

"Overreacting to things," Edward sighed. "I am sorry for my behavior."

"And you promise me that you will not do anything like this when we make love," Bella said and immediately turned red, but that didn't stop her from looking Edward straight in the eyes.

"I promise," Edward said, looking as if he would have been blushing too if he could.

Bella continued reading and was further upset by Edward's dark mood, how he described himself as a monster and how he was taking what had been the best moment of her book self's life and dragged it through the mud. It just sucked that he had to be so pessimistic about things just because she had a few bruises... it's not like she wasn't capable of giving herself bruises. Why the hell couldn't he have just taken her word that she was okay... more than okay?

"I'm sorry," Edward whispered in her ear, obviously noticing that she was fuming about his. "But you know it's hard for me to see you hurt... worse knowing I'm the one that did it..."

"I suppose, but I don't understand why you can't believe me when I said I wasn't hurt," Bella mumbled, "I know he said that I had a tendency of letting him off too easily but I just don't see that... I think it's just you tend to want to believe that you're a monster and that's just ridiculous."

"Hm..." Edward said not sure if he agreed with that but he was finding her reaction to this too amusing to argue with her. Besides, he really was dying to hear what she had to say about the next few chapters. "Just keep reading, Bella."

"Fine," Bella grumbled and continued read. She groaned when she realized that Edward wasn't going to touch her again, that he was going to pull away from her. And she was even more annoyed when she started reading the next chapter and Edward was making her do all sorts of things to distract her. She was glad that she didn't just give in but she was disappointed that Edward didn't seem to react to her at all, even when she was wearing lingerie (that Alice had packed for her). Hmph, she huffed, Edward had too much self control, more than was good for him or for her!

"I'm offering to stay human and still you won't sleep with me," Bella grumbled to herself, though of course Edward heard her.

"You know how insistent I can be when I think I'm right," Edward chuckled.

"Hm... perhaps, but I also know that I'm more stubborn than you are when I really want something."

"True," Edward chuckled. "This is why you will get your way."

"Really," Bella smiled at that, but then again that made sense. There was no way her Edward would have willingly been with her if he didn't believe that it was physically safe... that he wouldn't hurt her. She continued reading and found it more enjoyable than she had a moment ago, knowing that she would succeed.

When she got to talking about the nightmares she was having, she wondered again why the child was mentioned, worried again as to why a child would be there, fearing the desire that was starting to build in her. She pushed that thought aside as the Volturi were mentioned. It wasn't that difficult seeing as she was really starting to fear these vampires and the real danger they presented to her family. That didn't last long though for the baby in her book self's dreams was described and it was so easy to picture him... he would look just like Edward and of course she would have to protect him with her life.

"What's the matter?" Edward asked and she was too absorbed in her thoughts to notice the anxiety in his voice. How anxious he was to see how she took the news. She shook her head, she wasn't going to tell him about what she was thinking about, it would only serve to bring him down too for there was nothing he could do to make her feel better.

"I attacked you again," Bella chuckled (though it was a little forced as she still thought of her other dream). "That's how I get you to cave..."

"Yes," Edward chuckled, "Emmett especially liked that."

"Oh, shut up," Bella glared at him, blushing of course. She had managed until this point to not think about his family reading all of this. "Now that you brought it up, how did your family take your beh..."

"They were all on your side, of course," Edward chuckled, "my sisters were particularly angry at me for behaving like an idiot."

"Good," Bella smiled and then started to read again. Edward's distraction had made her feel slightly better. She was very pleased about the way that the book Edward had taken this, he seemed to be happy and it really made her smile to read all of this. She sighed when she was talking about going to college and Edward said that they didn't agree to anything so she could drop the pretense. She was quite sure that it wasn't a pretense and she was annoyed that he thought she would do that. She didn't make plots and plans like that. She really wished the people that came to clean the house would have picked another day. She liked the thought of spending time alone with Edward, but she smiled as the chapter ended.

She sighed as the next chapter started with a dream... the dream of protecting a baby from the Volturi. However, there was something going on in this book more than just an underlying desire to have Edward's child. She was fatigued, and having odd dreams, and eating more than usual, and even more unbalanced than she normally was. And this chapter was called unexpected... was there something more happening her? She knew it was dangerous thinking this, for if she was wrong it would be devastating.

She added her cooking experience to the list of the impossible happenings and continued reading and she had become sick. And the more she read the more convinced she became that she was right.

"Edward... is what I think happening actually happening?" Bella asked when she got to the part where she was counting days.

"I don't know what you're thinking, Bella," Edward answered and Bella turned to him frowning. His expression was teasing but he looked worried, too.

"Am I..." Bella said, stumbling over the word almost terrified of what would happen once she said it, "I'm p-pregnant?"

Edward nodded his head and was looking at her so intensely that it stalled her reaction to this bit of information. She felt frozen as she looked into Edward's eyes... how worried he looked as if he was terrified of how she would react to this. She realized then that this was what had truly convinced him that they were meant to be together, having a child together... proving that he wasn't a soulless monster and she wouldn't be one either if she was a vampire.

She knew he wanted her to say something, but she couldn't find the words. She was thinking about a child... picturing the little boy that was described not too long ago, and knowing that he would have to be sweet and innocent. She smiled as she thought about holding this baby, of getting to know him. She looked up at Edward then and beamed at him.

"We're going to be parents!" Bella exclaimed.

"Yes!" Edward exclaimed excitedly, beaming at her and all of his anxiety seemed to have vanished in that one word (or was it her smile).

"This is going to happen in a year!" Bella just realized, she would be becoming a mother in a year... she wasn't sure if she really could handle that.

"It doesn't have to," Edward said pulling her closer to him, trying to calm her down. Bella looked at him, trying to be reassured by his words, but Edward's expression was guarded.

"You want this to happen like it does in the book, don't you?" Bella whispered at him.

"Well, sort of, but I don't want you to feel pressured... we can wait a few years if you want to," Edward said softly.

"Okay, but why do you prefer it this way?" Bella questioned.

Edward sighed, but she wasn't going to let him deflect this topic. "Because I want to meet her..."

"Her?" Bella said, so they weren't having a boy.

"Yes," Edward smiled, well aware that she would be thinking about a boy.

"Tell me about her, Edward," Bella requested, leaning against his chest. "I want to be able to picture her."

"She has your eyes," Edward said and she could hear the pride in his voice as he said this. "You don't know how happy I am that I'll still be able to see those lovely brown eyes of yours."

"Hm..." Bella smiled as she watched how excited he seemed to be talking about their child. She of course would have loved to see the shade of green eyes that Edward had when he was still human, but she couldn't help but be happy that Edward got his wish.

"She has my hair, though you mentioned that she had Charlie's curls," Edward's voice sounded awed and amused as he talked. "I'm not quite sure how she looks though, for I think she looks like you and you think she looks like me... I'm really looking forward to se..." he stopped there and gave Bella apologizing look. "I didn't mean to say that."

"It's okay," Bella smiled at him. "I'm looking forward to seeing her, too. Edward... Were you really worried that I wouldn't want your child?"

"You didn't seem to think about having children, and seeing how adverse you are to marriage at such a young age... yes, I was a little worried," Edward sighed.

"I suppose you had a point," Bella sighed too. "I never really thought about having a child until I met you. And I've been trying not to think of children since the end of the last book and I thought of a bronze haired little boy that looked just like his father..."

"You thought of that in the last book?" Edward questioned, looking shocked.

"Hm..." Bella answered, not going to mention that it was after her book self's deepest betrayal. "I've been worried this whole book about what that image would do to me... if I would always long to have a child that I could never have with you."

Edward was silent for a while as he processed this. "I wish you would have told me you were feeling this way."

"So do I now," Bella snuggled closer to him. "It would have saved me from worrying so much. But I didn't want to put that on you... not when I know that I can be happy with you."

Edward sighed sadly.

"But it's okay now, Edward, because now I can get everything... everything's perfect," Bella smiled at him and Edward had to smile back. He didn't have to think about the 'what if's and things that never are going to happen. Bella started reading again at this point. Smiling as she called the baby her little nudger. It was unnerving that the baby was growing so fast but it was a unique pregnancy between two different species, it should be expected that things would happen in unpredictable ways.

"Oh," Bella sighed and looked at Edward, who was looking down. "You thought the baby would be dangerous."

"I'm sorry," Edward sighed. "I thought that it was a monster and it was going to kill you."

"Then I guess it's lucky that I'm already in love with her," Bella said, holding Edward close to her. "It's going to be a hard pregnancy, isn't it?"

"Yes," Edward said, "and I can't say that I'm not afraid of what is going to happen in our reality... it's very dangerous..."

"That's not going to stop me," Bella informed him. "You've already filled my head with images of our little girl and I want her now."

"Good," Edward smiled and kissed her. "Just don't think too badly of me for how I'm going to act for a solid portion of this book."

"I'll try to keep that in mind," Bella said before she started reading the book again. She frowned when the cleaning people came back and the lady, Kaure, was telling Edward that he was a monster. Okay, it was nice that the lady cared so much about her safety to stand up to a vampire, but did she really have to make Edward feel worse than he already was... that he was a real villain for what he did?

"Is this why Rosalie likes me now?" Bella asked as she read about her phone call to Edward's sister, the one vampire she knew that would help her in this situation. "Because I have a baby?"

"I won't lie, if it wasn't for this, I doubt Rose would have wanted me to meet you," Edward said softly. "But that's because she liked you enough that she wanted you to live a real life. I know... you wouldn't choose that life, but for Rose... she would give up everything to be able to have a child and watch that child grow... ageing along with it.

"But that doesn't mean that Rose didn't like you for you, Bella. She's impressed by all the ways that you tried to protect our family. She liked you long before this issue was brought up," Edward assured her.

"And if I decided that I don't want to have a child?" Bella found herself asking.

"Oh... she'd hate you forever," Edward chuckled. "And that's in the literal sense of the word."

"Hm... then I suppose it's a good thing I want to have your baby," Bella smiled at him. "And I have a feeling it's a good thing that she was here... keeping me safe from your pessimism."

"You got that right," Edward chuckled. "This is a pretty good place to take a break, are you hungry yet?"

"Sure," Bella said and got up to make herself something for lunch.

 **A/N: Okay, so once again I just didn't get as far as I wanted to. It's just too difficult writing this, so I'm going to splitting this book up into three parts. Sorry about that.**


	21. Reading Breaking Dawn Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-One

Reading Breaking Dawn Part Two

Edward and Bella talked happily during lunch, for though she knew that something bad was going to be coming in the book, she still felt that she had a lot to look forward to now. Indeed, though she enjoyed her lunch, she was eager to continue reading to find out what was going to happen next. She was surprised right away when she realized that that this part seemed to be from Jacob's point of view.

"Why do you think the author chose to do it this way?" Bella questioned. "Do this book in Jacob's...?"

"I don't think the author had much of a choice in how she did it," Edward said thoughtfully.

Bella looked at him oddly, not quite sure what he meant by that.

"However, I think that it might be in this point of view because you're an invalid and don't get..." Edward continued with a smirk.

"Oh stop it," Bella glared at him. "And you can't tell me that you didn't wish it was from my point of view so you could hear my thoughts..."

"True," Edward chuckled.

Bella then started reading again. She felt a little sorry for Jacob when she read that Paul, one of his pack brothers, had imprinted on his sister. That had to be hard on him, being able to hear what Paul thought about his sister... Then she was reading about Quil and Claire. It seemed like an innocent enough relationship, but it still unnerved her a little, knowing what was going to happen.

Then they were having a pack meeting and Bella was fascinated at first upon hearing how they reacted together, how their thoughts and feelings were transferred through their link. Of course as soon as the Cullens were mentioned she got tense. It seemed that they thought that she was turned... not an altogether shocking discovery, but one that made her feel slightly ill. She was surprised at first, when Sam had decided to let it go, to allow her to be turned without starting a war between the two of them.

"Did you think something like this would happen in our time?" Bella asked.

"I'm not sure," Edward said. "In some ways our relationship with the wolves has been improved dramatically since you arrived here. We are able to talk to them... almost peacefully. Jacob actually considers us as friends..."

"But?" Bella asked, knowing it was coming.

"But in the books when we went through a tough battle... Carlisle healed Jacob... things like that had a great impact on the wolves and I know it contributed a lot to the way they feel about us," Edward sighed. "I hope they won't be a problem... I hope they will be able to see that it's your choice... but I can't be sure how they're going to react."

Bella was thoughtful for a moment before she started reading again. She found it hard to hear how bitter Jacob's thoughts were, how much he wanted to go after the Cullens... her family. She felt apprehensive when she got to the end of the chapter and it said that he was going to go alone to fight the Cullens.

She was anxious as the next chapter started, waiting for what was going to happen with bated breath. It didn't help at all that Jacob was just talking to Billy, she knew the fight was coming... that this was just stalling the inevitable. She tensed again as soon as Jacob ripped the phone off the wall and then left the house.

She shivered at Jacob planning on challenging Edward... she didn't want them to fight. She realized that it wouldn't really come to that, for Jacob would see that she was still human... but she was starting to fear what he would think about the baby that she was carrying. What would that do to Jacob? She wasn't really able to think of that for long though as Jacob was thinking about killing her Edward, and though she was confident that Edward could handle himself, the thought of Jacob getting killed was hard too. Not to mention she knew that Sam and the other wolves would definitely avenge Jacob. She tried not to think of that... the vampires and werewolves fighting... She had to believe that Edward wouldn't really do anything that would hurt Jacob... that would start the fight.

Then Jacob was going into the house and she was waiting for what was going to happen. Though it was a little comfort, it was nice to hear that Jacob had a higher opinion of Carlisle.

"I'm sorry," Bella said when she heard Edward's expression being described... she didn't want to put him though that kind of pain.

"It's all right, Bella," Edward kissed the top of her head. "I wasn't in nearly this amount of pain when I was reading this book..."

"Convinced you wouldn't let something like this happen so it wasn't something you had to worry about it," Bella mumbled, still looking down.

"Partly," Edward agreed with a slight chuckle. "But there was also a part of me that believed that this was what was always meant to happen... I had hoped that this would have a happy ending."

Bella nodded her head, and prepared herself for a hard time as she read this chapter. Though she understood that Edward didn't actually feel that, it wasn't going to make it any easier reading about this.

Bella shivered slightly as she read how she looked, and looked up at Edward questioningly.

"Don't worry; we know how to handle your pregnancy better... I don't think you're ever going to get to look like this," Edward said softly, but his body was tense as he too read this description.

The only good thing about all this was it seemed to have taken the fight out of Jacob, but again she was wary of how he was going to react to the pregnancy. The initial reaction to this wasn't as bad as she feared. It was a little too possessive for her taste but that wasn't so bad. She had expected him to think the baby was dangerous... that it was something that shouldn't exist. Then he was talking about the baby talking her life to feed its own... calling it a ' _monster_ '. She didn't appreciate that very much at all... but it was still better than her other thought.

Of course she tensed as soon as Edward asked Jacob to go outside... surely Edward wasn't going to fight him. What good would that do anyone? That fear of the fight didn't stop her for one second to feel horrible for the pain that Edward was going through. How much pain even Jacob, someone that hated Edward, could see clearly in his eyes.

"Edward," Bella said softly as soon as he had said it was his fault. "This isn't..."

"I know," Edward said stroking her face softly, "I just thought I was going to lose you... that it was killing you... I was wrong of course, but if I ever thought I was the reason you were hurt... in pain... or d... dying. This is how I would feel," he said his eyes showing only a slight approximation of the pain his book self was feeling but that was enough to make Bella shudder and vow never to let herself get hurt if she could help it.

"I would, too, you know," Bella said in a voice that even Edward with his vampire hearing struggled to hear. "This is how I would feel if anything happened to you."

"I know," Edward agreed resting his head on hers.

Bella grimaced when Jacob suggested that Edward just hold her down and have Carlisle take the baby from her. She couldn't imagine the pain that would put her though... having her child taken from her like that... it was just wrong. She was even more disappointed when Edward said he would have done that if it weren't for Rosalie and she was thankful for her blonde haired sister for protecting her and that Emmett and Esme backed her up, too.

"Do you really think Carlisle would have helped you if I was against the abortion?" Bella asked, her voice was stiff and he could tell that she was upset with him. "You know without Esme on my side?"

"We... he would want to save you," Edward said, his voice filled with regret.

"It still doesn't seem like something that Carlisle would want to do," Bella said. "He tries so hard to do the right thing... this would go against that."

"Hm... maybe," Edward allowed, "but I believe he thought you were carrying a monster as surely as I was... and he wanted to save you..."

"Whatever," Bella huffed and then started reading again only to get angrier at Edward for using Jacob's feelings for her to try and get him to talk to her. And then when she heard Edward's idea she felt really angry. "Oh my God, Edward, what the hell!"

"Um..." Edward said looking her with a sheepish yet defiant look. "I'll do anything to keep you alive."

"Clearly," Bella glared at him. "I can't believe that you want Jacob to... argh... I can't even think of that. And do you really think that I would be happy with that? Do you really think I could want someone... anyone else's baby when I know I could have yours?"

"Well, you did picture having Jacob's kids... in the book," Edward shrugged.

"That's when I believed that we couldn't have children together!" Bella huffed. "I've already told you that was when I first pictured having the bronze haired little boy!"

"This will never happen in our reality, so you don't have to worry about it," Edward said soothingly.

"Whatever," Bella huffed and then started reading again. As she continued to read she knew her bad mood wasn't helping at all. She snorted indignantly when Jacob thought that they could share her and Edward said whatever. As if she would allow anything like that to happen. And, after feeling disturbed by Jacob fantasizing about her with him, she groaned as she realized the pain that Jacob would have felt picturing a future that could never happen. It was wrong of Edward to have involved him in their pain... to make him suffer too, when by all rights they should have left him alone.

She quickly went on to the next chapter, still feeling angry and waited for what her book self was going to say about this ridiculous idea. Her anger abated a little when she heard that Jacob didn't know why he was there and talking about it hurting him later when she was gone. She never wanted to hurt anyone like she seemed to be doing in this book and she was going to make sure she didn't.

She was thoughtful as her book self talked about magic. She wondered if she believed in that... it seemed a little odd to her, for she hadn't lived through all the things that her book self had. She still knew something else was at work here, for everything to work out like they did... there was something helping her. Then she was talking about imprinting and how that would make sense of what happened between them and she shivered. She couldn't really think why she reacted that way and she didn't let her mind drift to try to understand, she just kept reading.

She read about her plan of surviving her vampire pregnancy and it made sense. She would have to be transformed right away. She also agreed that she would be strong enough to keep her heart beating, for if not Edward never would have been so excited about this. So she didn't let any of Jacob's negative thoughts get to her. Bella looked pointedly at Edward when her book self said ' _it was having this baby_ ' and he almost chuckled at her look.

"I've already got that message, love," Edward said, leaning down to kiss her nose.

Bella couldn't help but smile at that, her bad mood lessening considerably, before she turned back to the book to read. She rolled her eyes when her book self thought that when Jacob said try again, that she thought he meant that Edward would still be the father. It seemed obvious that wasn't the cause to her, but then again Jacob hadn't really made himself clear. Then with his second attempt at explaining she thought of artificial insemination, which she had to admit was a lot better idea than going to Jacob and... she shivered at that thought. And then she finally got what Jacob was saying, she was grinning at him... like it was really okay for Edward to offer her off to Jacob. Then again she had to admit that her book self didn't hear what Edward had said or how much pain the book Jacob went through so it was easier to see the ridiculous side of this situation.

She grimaced when Jacob said she loved the wrong things. Who was he to say what was wrong for her to love? Maybe it was him that was loving the wrong thing when he loved her... if he never loved her none of them would have been put through as much pain as they had been through. All she knew was that it was completely right that she loved Edward and her child that wasn't even conceived yet.

And then Jacob was leaving and phasing back into a wolf. She read with growing fear as the wolves went over all Jacob's thoughts about what had happened. Her worst fears seemed to be coming true as she read the wolves call her baby an abomination. She knew what was coming and she felt her body tense, Edward's arms wrapping around her to calm her down.

"They're going to react like this in our reality too, aren't they," Bella voice quivered.

"Of course not," Edward said softly. "Most of their fears come from the fact that they don't know what the child will be. But now we know... we can easily make them see that she wouldn't be a danger to them or anyone else."

"Okay," Bella nodded her head and felt a lot better hearing this. However this didn't help at all when the wolves were actually planning the attack on her family. She didn't like this one bit... she knew that in a fight that both the vampires and wolves would be hurt... that she would lose people she cared about on both sides.

Though Bella could see that Jacob's thoughts about Carlisle's gentle nature was helping him realize that this was wrong, it still made her cringe when he thought about it making the vampire easier to kill. She knew he had a point and hated to think of Carlisle being in danger like that. She also hated that Sam had ordered Jacob to follow his order... that Jacob would have no choice but to participate in this.

She went on to the next chapter hoping that something would happen to stop this. She cringed when she read the thoughts the wolves had about facing Jasper and Emmett, though of course she had more fear that the wolves would get her, for her brothers were terrifying. However, it wasn't long before she felt hopeful. For Jacob was able to fight the Alpha command, because he was supposed to be the Alpha. She didn't really want Jacob to stand against his brothers, and she knew it would cause him pain, but she also knew that to stop the fight, that would hurt them all worse, this had to happen. She was also glad that Jacob resisted fighting with Sam, and his objection to trying to take someone's will away... that didn't seem right to her.

Then Jacob was running away from his brothers to protect her. She sighed when he described his pain; of his hallow Alpha power... because he had no one to lead. However that didn't last long, and she was happy when Seth had joined Jacob, and was supporting him. She also liked it because she knew the other werewolves wouldn't dream of attacking now... not when her family would be warned and could lose two of their members... that it would be an even fight.

She was a little shocked to hear that Jacob couldn't hear the other wolves when he became his own Alpha... it was interesting, though of course it didn't matter much at the moment because she was worried, especially when he pointed out that he wouldn't know if the other pack was planning an attack now. Then Jacob and Seth were at the house and talking to Edward and she groaned when Edward had said they wanted to kill Bella, obviously meaning the other wolves, but Emmett and Jasper took it to mean Jacob and Seth. She hated how easy it was for a fight to break out between the two groups... how one small thing could possible start the fighting. She wished there was something that could be done that would make things less stressful.

"He has a point, Edward, there's nothing you wouldn't do or ask for to make sure I'm safe," Bella said.

"And that's a bad thing?" Edward said to her and she shook her head.

Bella continued to read. She agreed with Seth that it was horrible that Jacob had agreed to kill Edward, but was worried about her family thinking that they were being attacked. She didn't like how the scene was described, of how she was like now. She didn't like that she was getting worse and what it was doing to Edward. She didn't like the growing hostility between Edward and Rosalie... how yet another fight seemed on the edge of breaking out.

The next chapter started off making her panic... a wolf was coming... but then it was just Leah, and they could hear her thoughts and she realized that she wasn't going to be a danger to them. It was odd thinking of Leah joining them but she realized before Leah even mentioned it in the book why she really would want to join Jacob's pack. The idea of getting away from Sam's thoughts... of not hearing what he now thought of her... of Emily... Of everything that is happening there, that would be too tempting to not to switch sides. Even if it meant that she had to be near the vampires. However, she also realized that Leah must have somehow realized that Jacob was right too... for if she really thought the child would be dangerous to her family... she was the type of girl that would suffer that pain. Maybe not silently... but suffer all the same.

Bella almost smiled as she read on and she could already see a difference in Leah's thoughts... and it wasn't only just because she was trying to show Jacob that she wouldn't be bad. Not having to be troubled all the time was such a relief that Leah now had a chance to be herself again (not that Bella knew who that was). She could see that it really was good for the pack as a whole for them to split up, though she still wished it wasn't these circumstances that did it.

Bella could almost smile when Carlisle and Jacob talked on the porch. It was nice to see that the two could get along... she knew that Carlisle still longed to question Jacob about his legends in her reality. It was nice to see this relationship translate in the book. She smiled when Carlisle said that he wouldn't force her to lose the baby... she knew he wouldn't, Carlisle was too good for that.

However, she felt horrible reading how hard this was on Carlisle... how the doctor was unable to help her because he didn't know anything about a pregnancy like this. How useless he felt. It was hard to hear the calm and collective Carlisle so distressed.

And then Jacob mentioned blood and it made perfect sense. The baby must want blood... it was part vampire after all... it must need blood. She hoped that someone realized this, for Jacob didn't say it out loud... hopefully Edward wasn't so absorbed with talking to her that he wasn't listening to this too.

Then she was back to being sad that Carlisle didn't know to warn them; not that he needed to because everything was going to be okay in the end, but still it was hard to see Carlisle in pain. She chuckled when Jacob mentioned being ten shades of jealous in Edward's cause.

Bella knew as soon as Jacob thought that Edward had a look of a hope that he realized that she needed blood. It was the second after she thought this smugly that she realized how she was going to get this blood. "I'm going to have to drink it!" she said starting to get sick just thinking about it.

Edward sighed and then answered simply, "Yes."

Bella, still feeling sick, forced herself to read; if that's what she had to do to make sure her baby was safe, she would do it. She just hoped that it didn't taste as bad as it smelled... it wasn't a high hope.

She continued reading with a sour face, telling herself it would be worth it in the end. "Oh... do you think you can give it to me intravenously if we start giving it to me before I get this bad?" she asked really hopeful this time.

"Hm... I think it would help," Edward said, though he thought it would be healthier for the baby if she were to drink it; it would go directly to the baby then, but if she wanted to do it this way they would. As long as both Bella and Renesmee were safe that is. Bella felt uncomfortable when Jacob questioned if Rosalie was after her child. It seemed that was what was most important to the blonde vampire, but Bella was sure that Rose had other reasons for backing her up in this too.

She felt sick again when she thought that drinking the blood would be practice for the future... there was a difference then, at least in the future she would want to drink the blood... it would be what she needed. Now though...

She started reading the next chapter but wasn't reading with her normal speed, she wasn't looking forward to reading the actually act... and that didn't get any better when Edward said not the clear cup... she could picture herself... yuck. But, apparently it wouldn't be as bad as she thought... not if it smelled good. It didn't stop her from being a little queasy now, but knowing it wouldn't be hard for her to drink the blood while pregnant did ease her worries some. She was definitely not looking forward to that but it was nice knowing it wouldn't be completely disgusting.

Bella chuckled when she read Jacob's thought about Edward working on the honesty thing.

"I think I'm pretty honest with you actually," Edward said, smiling too.

"I know... but I still hear you muttering under your breath sometimes," Bella said to him.

"Yes... I will have to learn not to do that," Edward sighed.

She didn't find Jacob's next comment as funny, even thought it seemed that Edward had.

"You know that's not true, right, Edward?" Bella asked. "About not hearing my thoughts?"

"I know that you like that I can't hear your thoughts," Edward said.

"Yes, but that doesn't mean that I wouldn't like you if you heard my thoughts," Bella said. "I would be a little embarrassed... and I might not have interested you as much..."

"Bella, love," Edward chuckled. "I heard all the thoughts that you would have thought before I even met you and it only made me love you more... made you more interesting to me."

"That's nice to know," Bella smiled at him, blushing. "And I want you to know that there isn't anything you could do that would make me not love you."

"That's nice to know," Edward repeated her words, giving her the lopsided smile that he knew she loved. Her heartbeat picked up as she looked at him and she was redder by the time she started reading again.

Bella found herself reading about Jacob not sleeping, and felt badly for him. She knew how hard it was to function when you're exhausted and she really wished he would just listen to her and get some sleep. She thought of a completely different reason for Rosalie to have a bed when Jacob suggested that it was a prop and found herself blushing again.

Still the best part of this chapter so far was the fact that she looked noticeable better in just a few minutes... Edward was starting to smile and almost laugh again… she especially liked that she mentioned eating eggs, remembering that she had preferred them on Esme Isle. Things were looking better. She knew it was too much to hope that things would keep up that way but it was nice that at least a part of a chapter wasn't all doom and gloom.

Of course immediately after this thought Seth and Leah were howling, a signal that the other wolves were coming and Jacob was running off to join them... ruining the only clothes he now owned. She read this part with sick anticipation that made her earlier queasiness seem silly. Jacob was facing his pack brothers, not sure if he was going to have to fight them or not... It was all wrong.

The meeting again wasn't going as bad as she thought. It seemed like the pack was going to back off for the time being. However, she did get upset when she heard that Leah thought that Sam was banking on her dying and that Jacob would want to kill her baby if that happened. And frowned even more when Jacob thought it was likely to be true. She really hoped that he would give her child the benefit of the doubt... even if she died... he should wait to see if her baby was good or evil, shouldn't he?

Though still upset, she had to admit that the way that Jacob handled himself in this meeting was very good. He seemed like a good leader... a little passive but someone that you would want to follow. She didn't like it at all when Jared had tried to get Seth to come home by using Sue and how hard it was on her with him gone like this. Even using his father, that had recently died against him. It just wasn't right. The kid didn't deserve that. Equally as bad was the way that he tried to get Leah to come back, by using Sam's old nickname for her, but she knew that had no chance of working. All it would do would be to piss Leah off.

It was nice to hear that the reason why Embry wasn't there wasn't because the others were planning anything but because he would be too tempted to join Jacob's pack. Though, it was a little sad. It just showed how painful this kind of separation was. She rolled her eyes at how Jacob's pack reacted to her drinking blood and she was finding that she liked Seth more and more the longer she read about him.

She figured that now was the best time to put the book down and make dinner for Charlie so that's what she did. It was a few hours later that she was up in her room reading the next chapter. She really wished that Jacob would just lie down and go to sleep but of course he had to tell them that everything was okay first. She was pleased to see that someone (and she was sure who it was) left clothes for Jacob to wear.

She felt a little odd when she saw how she reacted to Jacob coming back. She thought her book self had realized it wasn't right for her to act that way but there she was getting excited every time that Jacob came into the room. She was just as confused as Jacob was and didn't like this one bit. She tried not to smile at the blonde joke, but it was hard.

Though she would rather Edward had let Jacob sleep, she was still happy when she realized that Esme, via Edward, was telling Jacob that he could have anything he needed to get along. It was nice that they were being considerate to him.

And then she sighed when she was hurt... causing Edward (and Jacob) to worry about her again. It seemed the baby had broken her ribs... this really was going to be a tough pregnancy. But it will be worth it, she reminded herself.

She felt sad when she realized that Jacob was right. Alice wasn't around her during most of what was happening. She hated that she was causing Alice headaches... that she was making her sister worry about her safety just as much as Edward and Jacob. She also hated that Alice couldn't see the baby... it would have been so easy if she could have just seen that everything was okay and that no one had to worry at all. She still found herself chuckling when Alice compared Jacob to aspirin.

Then Jacob was finally sleeping... having disturbing dreams, but at least he was sleeping. She got a little mad when Jacob got angry with Seth for helping her stay warm... she wasn't Jacob's girlfriend after all... he didn't have any claim over her.

She worried about the Cullens going hunting now... with the way things were but she thought that Jacob's advice would be enough to keep them safe. She agreed with Carlisle that there was no way that Jacob should face his brothers in a fight... even if the wolves did attack; the thought of the wolves fighting each other was horrible and unacceptable.

She then smiled when Esme brought Jacob food, and how Jacob thought that she managed to remind him of his mother. It was just the power that Esme had to make you feel at ease and Bella really loved that about her. She rolled her eyes when Jacob mentioned throwing the food out, knowing full well that he wouldn't be able to resist the cooking... She was even more exasperated when he didn't want Edward to tell Esme what he thought. As if Edward would do such a thing... it would only hurt Esme feelings and she didn't know of anyone that wanted to hurt Esme's feelings.

She continued on to the next chapter and smirked when Jacob talked about showing Leah a good example when he ate the breakfast... like anyone would buy that.

"I was thinking that too. Why didn't we just leave when we learned the wolves were thinking about hurting the baby?" Bella asked.

"It's not as simple as that, Bella, you know you're not in any shape to be moved and there are definite advantages of staying here," Edward said.

"I suppose if I keep reading I'll figure out what they are."

"I suppose you're right," Edward chuckled and Bella started reading again.

"Oh... that does make sense," Bella said after reading that part.

"Why am I talking to Charlie?" she asked. She was rather surprised when she heard that she was talking to her dad. She didn't think she would be talking to him anytime soon...

"You thought of something that would keep Charlie in your life for a little longer," Edward said frowning. "Just keep reading, Bella; you'll see what I mean eventually."

"Right," Bella said raising an eyebrow, but she did as he asked and started reading again.

Again she was annoyed by how she brightened up when Jacob showed up. But she was happy that with Jacob around Alice was able to be around too. She couldn't help laughing when Rosalie gave Jacob a doggy bowl... it was just too funny.

"So it's going to take forty days for me to give birth?" Bella questioned.

"It's a pregnancy... you know you can't really say how long it will take," Edward said. "But yes... it would be around that long."

"He's not going to get his four days is he?" Bella sighed.

"No," Edward chuckled.

"Edward... do you know what date the baby was conceived?" Bella asked blushing slightly.

"We are pretty sure... given all that we had learned from the book," Edward said, "though no date was actually stated in the book."

"Good," Bella sighed, knowing if they were planning to try to have this particular baby, that knowing this was very important.

Bella's eyes widened when she read Jacob thinking about how her belly expanding gave her gravitational force. She was trying her hardest not to connect the dots that were now forming in her head... for she really wished she wasn't right about this. She quickly started reading again, trying to make sure she didn't think about this right now. However, the subject matter that they were talking about didn't help any. What did she mean that he was part of her family... that everything felt complete when he was there? That just wasn't right! And why was she feeling that so much right now?

"How am I planning on seeing Charlie again?" Bella asked, happy for a diversion this time, and instead of letting Edward answer she kept reading. "Wow... would that work?"

"Well, both Charlie and you would be safe," Edward said, "you wouldn't have broken the rules for Charlie wouldn't actually know that you're a vampire. And as long as he doesn't find out what you really are... he would be safe."

"I like that plan then," Bella smiled, it was nice knowing that she might still get to see her dad a little longer. "Does it work?"

"It works well enough," Edward smiled. "But it is a very delicate matter... we have to be careful."

She continued reading and then said, "Wow, I didn't really think you would be able to research this. I didn't think this ever really happened."

"We were going off of what Kaure said to me, I'm sure," Edward said. "We searched around for any information about this before you came to live in Forks... you know we were all bored waiting for you to get here. Anyway, there really wasn't much that we could pull together..."

Bella started reading again and frowned when she heard how Rosalie talked about what happened to the mothers that were supposed to have given birth to babies like hers and Edward's. It did sound cold... but she could also see that she was trying to be reassuring in her own way.

She frowned when Jacob threw the bowl at Rosalie... and tried to keep frowning when she was upset about getting food in her hair, but she couldn't manage it. It might not be nice to laugh, but she couldn't help herself. She did grimace, however, when he thought about throwing something at her too.

And then they were talking about the similarities the baby had to Jacob and though she didn't really find the gene count thing that fascinating she was wondering if the baby would have anything in common with Jacob. The chapter ended with Jacob thinking about how the baby would get out of her... it was a little weird thinking of someone... doing that.

She moved on to the next chapter after that. She kind of liked the growing friendship and understanding that Leah and Jacob seemed to have at the beginning of this chapter. She smiled when Leah said that Jacob was a good leader, and knew exactly where she was coming from when she said that she wanted to stay in Jacob's pack. She was intrigued to hear the way that Jacob hunted in his wolf form. She never really thought how he would be, but she supposed it made sense. And it was nice to see that he was helping Leah out. She could also see that having Leah in his pack even after everything was done would be helpful to him, for she would understand his pain... she might be able to help repair some of the damage that her book self had done.

She was shocked that Leah would be on her side to make sure she had a baby, and horrified to learn that Leah might not be able to have her own child. Because of the transformation she might not ever be able to bear children... it was so sad. She found the talk about the wolf imprint slightly interesting (though Billy's idea made her a little uneasy), but she was too sad about Leah's fate to care that much about it.

Bella was slightly disappointed with Jacob when he thought about issuing one Alpha order that would make Leah stay in La Push, being miserable. However, the next second she let it go, knowing that he was just mad right now, and once he cooled down he would think about this more rationally. She winced when she learned that once again she was hurt by the baby... this was something that was going to happen in her reality too. She was afraid of how much it was going to hurt and she was afraid of how much Edward was going to worry whenever she was hurt.

She rolled her eyes when Jacob had only decided to stay in the house because he wanted to annoy Rosalie... she wondered if they were always going to have that kind of relationship.

She smiled when Isle Esme was mentioned again; she really wished she would be able to go there with Edward. However, she couldn't help but notice that Edward was acting strangely and she wanted to get to the bottom of that.

"You can hear the baby... when she's still in me!" Bella exclaimed.

"Apparently," Edward chuckled. "As soon as the baby is developed enough, yes, I can hear her."

"Wow!" Bella said still shocked. "I didn't expect that."

"Neither did I," Edward smiled. "I've talked it over with Carlisle, and he's confident that as soon as I am able to hear the baby, that it would be safe for us to deliver her..."

"You're sure that won't hurt her?" Bella asked sounding worried.

"Yes, I'm sure," Edward smiled at her and she knew he was telling the truth.

She quickly started reading again, because she found she really wanted to hear what Edward would say, for it looked like he was finally coming around and getting excited about the birth.

"Hm... did you say him slowly there because you knew the baby was actually a girl," Bella questioned Edward, finding it a lot easier to smile while reading this part.

"I can't answer that until I am able to hear our child's thoughts while still in your womb," Edward answered and Bella rolled her eyes, and started reading the book again.

"I named our child... well, at least I picked out a name for a son without even telling you about it," Bella said, frowning slightly.

"I wasn't exactly in the name picking mood before," Edward chuckled. "I don't really mind, love."

"Did I pick a girl's name too?" Bella questioned.

"Yep," Edward smiled, and Bella sighed before she went back to reading the book. She smiled when she heard that the baby liked hearing Edward's voice, too.

"So I wanted to name our son Edward," Bella said. "Wouldn't that have been confusing... having two Edwards in the house for all eternity?"

"Probably, but seeing as we had a girl, you don't have to worry about that," Edward chuckled, and Bella started reading again but almost immediately asked another question.

"Renesmee... really that's the name I chose?" Bella said looking odd. "It's kind of peculiar, isn't it?"

"Which is perfect for our little girl," Edward smiled, "seeing how unique she is."

"You like the name then," Bella said.

"Well, you have to know that I've been thinking about our daughter a lot these past nine months and her name was always Renesmee," Edward said. "I didn't think you would have minded the name seeing as you were the one to come up with it."

"No, I don't mind it," Bella said, now thinking about how Edward was thinking about their child for months. "I was just saying it's was a peculiar name."

She went excitedly back to the book after that, only to have Jacob's pessimism ruin the mood. Did he really have to be so hurt just because Edward was now happy about the baby? Couldn't he see that the child wasn't a monster if it was thinking like Edward said it was thinking? No, he had to overreact and now she wouldn't know how her talk with the baby was going to go.

Okay, so she felt bad for Jacob, and yes as soon as the next chapter started and he was driving (in Edward's Aston Martin) to go and find someone to imprint on, she was hoping that he would be successful. She didn't want him to be in any more pain because of her, but she knew it was a pointless task that he was doing. And she had a growing suspicious about what was going to happen, and wished more than ever that his pointless task would actually pan out.

Of course it didn't and now he was driving back thinking about allowing Leah to go with him, like she knew he was going to do. Then he was talking to Edward about several things. Starting off with the fact that Leah had come in to yell at her book self. She shivered slightly; the feisty werewolf wasn't someone that she wanted yelling at her; though she agreed completely with Leah's points. Then they were talking about the development of the child, and how the baby had won over Edward because of its love for her. She was still annoyed to hear Jacob's negative thoughts about the baby, but she let it go, knowing that he was hurting and it was just easier to lash out like that.

"Do you really think of Jacob like a brother?" Bella questioned.

"Yeah, sort of," Edward said, but his eyes were sort of tight and hard for her to read. "Not as close as Emmett or Jasper, but the kid is growing on me."

When she got back to reading Edward was asking Jacob for permission to change her into a vampire. Saying that it was only Jacob's right as the heir of Ephraim to grant them that right.

"Do you think that will really work... keep the werewolves for attacking us?" Bella asked.

"Are you talking about in the book or in our reality?" Edward asked in return.

"Both," Bella said.

"Well, in the book it works out fine," Edward said, "and in our reality, we're really going to have to see what happens before I can say anything for certain... but I think it would."

Bella nodded her head and then started reading again, and Jacob was giving her permission to be changed and the smile she had only lasted a second before her book self was in pain and everything was going to hell.

She hurried to read the next chapter, wanting to know what was going to happen, though she was sure it was going to end all right, it was in her nature to panic. She didn't really notice any of Jacob's narratives or negative thoughts as she quickly read. She paled when she heard about the detached placenta, though she didn't really know what it meant. She shivered when she learned it meant the baby couldn't breathe. She shuddered when Rosalie caved into her craving for her book self's blood, though thought it was a good thing that Jacob and Alice were able to get her out of there quickly, and that Rosalie didn't put up any kind of fight. She hoped that Jacob would be able to keep her heart beating with CPR. She winced terribly when she heard him say that her spine was broken. She hoped her book self listened to Jacob's desperate pleas that she stay alive. She had to stay alive (or undead, whatever works). Then she was smiling, when she heard that Renesmee was born safely.

"That's going to be one really hard birth," Bella commented.

"Yes... and it's highly dangerous to you," Edward agreed with a sigh.

"It's worth it," Bella said. "Going through that kind of pain will only make it more worth it in the end. Besides, now we know more about what to expect... it should be easier for us."

"Hmph," Edward said now frowning. "I know it's going to be easier... but that doesn't mean it won't be dangerous... I want to meet Renesmee more than anything, but at the same time I can't bear the thought of losing you..."

"I'm not going anywhere," Bella smiled at him. "I can handle this, Edward."

"I know," Edward kissed the top of her head. "But you know how I get when I hear you are or will be in pain."

"Yeah," Bella smiled and then started to read again. She ignored Jacob's pessimism of her holding her baby. Of course she would want to see her child as soon as she was born. She did have to cringe a little when Renesmee bit her, and felt a hundred times more anxious when Jacob had said her heart stopped beating. No this can't be... she had to live! She read quickly as she saw that Edward had a needle with his venom in it and he plunged it directly into her heart.

"You made an injection of your venom!" Bella exclaimed.

"Yes," Edward chuckled.

"I hate needles," Bella mumbled.

Edward really laughed at that, but then said, "It's a lot faster this way and you only burn a little more than two days..."

"So your morphine idea isn't going to work," Bella sighed when she saw the pain in his eyes when he said that she was going to burn.

"You'll see," Edward said in an even voice, but she knew it didn't mean he was calm.

She continued to read as Edward frantically tried to heal her and how Jacob seemed to have given her up for dead. Bella felt really bad for the pain that Jacob was going through thinking that she was dead... dead in the way that you can't come back from. She didn't take any notice of the bitter direction his thoughts were going until they were about her baby. She found herself growing angry and she knew she couldn't excuse his thoughts about wanting to kill her baby. However, she realized quickly what the pull really meant... she could feel it. She had known this would happen from the moment that the book started in Jacob's point of view and she groaned... finishing the chapter and only dimly aware that she was going to make it through this for she had a lot more important things to discuss.

"I can't believe it!" she hissed bitterly. "I can't believe that he did that! And you... why didn't you tell me this was going to happen... that... that m... that he... Imprinted on our child!"

"We had to find it out the hard..." Edward started to say, his mouth pulled thin as he watched her with amusement.

"This isn't funny, Edward!" Bella huffed. "I don't want Jacob and my daughter... argh... that's disgusting! He's my best friend... and now he's going to be what... my son-in-law... that's just not right! I can't believe you didn't tell me something like this could happen."

"When is it that you think I could have told you this?" Edward questioned.

"I don't know," Bella grumbled.

"Are you saying that you wished that you were never friends with Jacob in the first place... that this wouldn't have seemed too odd to you then?" Edward carried on.

"I don't know," Bella said, considerably less mad, but it didn't help any with her annoyance. "I don't really want to think about our daughter having a boyfriend before she's one hour old."

"I know, I don't particularly like that either," Edward said. "And there are other things about this that annoy the hell out of me... but it's not all bad."

"Really," Bella said doubtfully.

"I'll only tell you one argument, and then you'll have to read the rest of the book to see how you'll feel about this," Edward said and Bella waited to hear his argument. "I wasn't the one to come up with this... in fact this was used on me to calm me down, but it was pointed out to me that the way that imprinting is described... the love the wolves have, is all consuming. And I want my daughter to be loved completely for everything that she is... and Jacob isn't a bad guy..."

"That's not really convincing me," Bella said still hotly, though she could see his point somewhat... she did want her daughter to be happy after all.

"No... It didn't convince me much either," Edward chuckled. "But there's nothing saying that Jacob has to be there when Renesmee is born... maybe we can have some time before we introduce them."

"That's sounding better," Bella sighed. "But still really annoying."

Edward chuckled his agreement and Bella moved on to the third and last part of the book.

 **A/N: So here's the second part of the book. Sorry I didn't post this on this Tuesday last, but I really didn't feel like writing it then... I needed a few days break from this story. Anyway, I'm going to have the third part of this book up on Tuesday and a new chapter that is all my own material on Friday.**


	22. Reading Breaking Dawn Part Three

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: I'm just going to say this here. Once again I haven't gone as far as I hoped I would. It was just so hard to sit down and write this at the moment. So now this book will be broken into four parts. The good news though is that you'll get one more week of double updates, for I'm going to post a new chapter on Friday, then Tuesday and then Friday again. I refuse to get two weeks behind where I wanted to be. Anyway, I hope you like this chapter.**

 **Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story for me.**

Chapter Twenty-Two

Reading Breaking Dawn Part Three

As Bella started the last and final part of the last book, she groaned as she always did at the preface. She really hated all of the prefaces, and this one seemed worse than all of the others, for it made one thing clear; the Volturi were coming, and they were likely going to try and kill them all. She moved on to the next chapter and sighed at the title, knowing that she was going to be in a lot of pain and Edward wasn't going to like that. She flinched and yet was pleased when the chapter started with their daughter's birth. Flinching because it meant that there was more pain in the book for both Edward and her to hear and pleased because she really was wondering what she was thinking of when she gave birth.

Then Renesmee was born and she was looking at her daughter for the first time and she couldn't stop smiling, she really couldn't wait to meet her daughter. Suddenly her daughter was gone and she was struggling to survive... trying to fight to survive. Thinking about Edward and then the others to draw strength from and cringing when her book self didn't think it was enough… when she couldn't pull a single image of her family... of Edward to hold on to. And then she was thinking about Renesmee... of holding her little girl and it was enough.

Then she was burning... and she knew she couldn't really imagine the bad that she was going through... that she would not be able to understand until it is actually happening to her, but Edward obviously understood. His hands tightened around her and she didn't want to look up at him for she knew he would be in pain... that he wished there was some way to keep her from this pain.

"The morphine is going to make it so I can't move... at all!" Bella said surprised and looking at Edward.

As she had expected, Edward was looking regretful, "I'm so sorry you have to go through that."

"It's my choice, Edward," Bella said. "And to be with you I'll take it every time."

"But you don't have to have the morphine," Edward said, "It's not going to help you."

"No," Bella said, "but would it help you..."

Edward sighed, "It can't help me now... I know you're going to be in pain no matter what... if you're unable to move... it will just make me wonder how much pain you're really in."

"I still think it would be hard on me to see how you're going to take this," Bella mumbled softly, not looking at his face.

"I want to hold you... to comfort you... I can't do that if you're frozen," Edward said. "You're right, it's going to be almost as painful for me watching you go through this as it was actually going through the transformation myself, but if I'm there for you... maybe... just maybe it will help you."

"Edward..." Bella said leaning her head on his shoulder.

"I know I can't prevent you from burning, but that doesn't mean I can't try and comfort you," Edward said. His voice was tight as he tried not to think of her going through this and failing miserably. "Please, let me do that."

"Okay," Bella nodded, wondering if she would be able to find it in her to not scream... not show just how painful it will be for her, so she could spare Edward as much pain as possible.

She went back to reading her book after that and the more she read the less likely it seemed. Of course, the fact that she was able to stop herself from moving or screaming after the morphine wore off she had more hope, but could tell it will be a terrible struggle to try and do that. She sighed when she realized how her not moving had affected Edward, how he thought that he did something wrong, but she knew her book self was right in staying still. Edward was a lot happier not knowing how much she was hurting. She almost wished that her Edward didn't know, that she could spare him, but obviously that was never going to happen and she found she liked the idea of him holding her.

"I take it Carlisle is talking about Jacob imprinting on Renesmee here," Bella grimaced as she read.

"Yes... and of how Rosalie and Jacob are fighting over who gets to look after Renesmee," Edward chuckled. "So which side would you be on?"

"I'd be on whatever side that means that I can get to hold my baby," Bella grumbled.

"I like that side," Edward chuckled. "Just as long as I get some time with her too..."

"Of course, Edward," Bella said looking at him a little shocked that he wouldn't know she meant the both of them. Edward just smiled at her expression and kissed her nose.

Bella turned back to the book and continued reading. She was interested when Alice came in and explained how her powers worked... how she was only able to see vampires and humans because she was and had been that, but she couldn't see the wolves because she wasn't one of them. It was interesting, though of course she was clinging to this topic so she didn't have to think of the pain her book self was in. Once Alice was gone the pain was changing and her heart was beating at a tremendous pace until it stopped... and she was a vampire.

Bella quickly changed the page to see what was going to happen next. Now that the pain was over with she was dying to see what she thought of being a vampire... how hard it was going to be for her... how easy? It felt so odd reading about the difference... how much things had changed... how much more vampires see, feel... experience in a short amount of time. She couldn't wait until she was experiencing this, the only thing that she was wary of with the mention of her throat burning, but she could live with that if she must.

She was shocked by her reaction to Edward's touch. It was hard to believe that his hand would ever not be cold to her, but she should have realized as soon as she was a vampire it wouldn't have been... that her own skin would be the same temperature as his.

"Why am I the danger?" Bella mumbled. "Did you expect that I would attack you or something?"

"We couldn't be sure how you would react," Edward said. "Carlisle has been through this four different times, myself three, and I can tell you that each time was different."

"And did any of them attack anyone?" Bella questioned.

"Of course not," Edward chuckled, "but Jasper had seen it happen before and it wasn't pretty..."

Bella nodded her head and then went back to reading. And then almost immediately she looked back at Edward. She read that she couldn't really see the perfection that was Edward, and she didn't know how it could be true, but knowing it was. She found herself wishing she could see that... that it would be possible, but she knew she would have to wait. She turned back to the book with a sigh and started reading again.

She groaned when she said she couldn't remember seeing her daughter's face... that her human memories were foggy. She knew it was going to happen, but she didn't know there was something that she would want to remember so much. She really hoped that her book self would see Renesmee soon, knowing that it had to be hard on her not knowing.

She smiled as she read about her still strong desire for Edward, for the fact that she didn't have to lose that when she transformed. She could feel by the way that Edward was making patterns on her arm that he was very smug about this fact too and she turned to smiled at him. She stayed liked that, but the need to know what happened was too strong to ignore and she had to read the book again. Soon, however, she was frowning right before she was giggling, "I guess I'm going to be stronger than you when I first turn."

"Yeah, that's going to be something for you to get used to," Edward chuckled.

Again she was smiling as she continued to read and she longed to be a vampire already so that she could feel what it was like to have Edward really kiss her. However, there were things that she wanted to happen before she turned so she was just going to have to be patient. She turned and read as she, just like her book self, remembered that the Cullens were there (and she remembered they had read this book).

"I wish I could have lied to you about this," Bella said when Carlisle questioned her about the morphine.

"I can't say that I'm glad that you can't, but I will say it can't be helped," Edward sighed.

She was surprised when her book self said that she didn't notice the burning until Carlisle described it. It was odd thinking that she needed a reminder like that, she was sure that wasn't something she was supposed to be reminded of.

"We were all shocked when we read this," Edward informed her when he noticed how shocked she seemed to be. "All of us... the first thing we remember is the burn in our throat... the need to hunt."

"Oh," Bella said, not really sure what it meant, but smiling anyway. She turned back to the book to read more. She sighed as again she thought of her child and was unable to think of her as real. She wanted to see her daughter, and didn't understand why they wouldn't just let her see Renesmee. But no, Edward wanted to take her hunting, and Alice wanted to show her what she looked like. Coming into the room with a huge mirror she rolled her eyes at that. She gasped when she read Jasper's description, feeling bad for her brother that had been attacked so much that his scars stood out to all vampires.

Then she was looking at the mirror and she smiled when her book self thought that she was beautiful, it was a shallow thought, but she had been so used to being around the Cullens, each one of them so lovely that it was nice to look like she belonged. Then when it mentioned the horror, she again agreed with herself. She wasn't looking forward to having bright red eyes... marking her as a monster.

She was just as confused as her book self was when Jasper questioned how she controlled her emotions, wasn't that a good thing? But Jasper seemed to be unnerved by it and she was afraid of what that meant.

"Jerk," Bella huffed, looking at Edward. "Making me think that you didn't like how I looked as a vampire..."

"Sorry," Edward chuckled. "But it seems like you appreciated that I still couldn't read you mind."

"That is nice," Bella admitted.

Then she was moving on to the next chapter and she felt herself get excited, she really was wondering what the hunting trips that Edward always went on were like. She was curious why they would take the window too, and sighed when Edward mentioned Renesmee and Jacob. Knowing that it would be safer for her to at least hunt first for she didn't want to be a danger to her daughter. It was horrible to think that she might think of her daughter as... she shook her head, not letting that sentence finish forming. She huffed indignantly when it mentioned Jacob not liking Renesmee; as if.

"Why did Alice dress me like that?" Bella groaned when she read that part.

"She's Alice," Edward shrugged, as if this was all he needed to say. "And maybe she knew what you were thinking about when I took you to prom, and thought you wanted to wear something formal when you were turned."

"Well, I don't," Bella groaned. "Especially if I'm just going to go hunting, put me in jeans and a t-shirt please."

"I'll remember that," Edward chuckled and Bella went back to reading.

She thought briefly of being the only clumsy vampire in existence, and serious hoped that wasn't the case... she had Emmett laughing at her enough as it is. She smiled when the leap was all too easy to make and was beaming when Edward said that she was graceful. And chuckled as Alice grumbled about her fashion sense.

She found her abilities fascinating... how far she could jump, how fast she could run. She smiled when she was outrunning Edward; knowing that he was supposed to be the fastest. She knew it wouldn't last, but it did make her a bit smug thinking that she could beat him. Then he was asking her to stop, so that they could start hunting. She listened closely as he informed her how she was to hunt this elk. How she was supposed to listen to them first... how she had to focus on the sound of the animals and drown out everything else. Then she was supposed to smell the animals, again she was smelling everything that was around her first and she had to focus on what she was looking for.

"Are animals really that unappealing to you?" Bella frowned.

"Yes," Edward sighed. "It's not easy being a vegetarian, but it's worth it."

"Of course," Bella nodded her head, and then continued to read.

She shivered when the wind changed and she was chasing something that made her move without even thinking. She knew what it would be before her book self thought of it and she felt sick. She couldn't even last a day before she was hunting humans... but Edward was there... surely he would stop her! Right? Then she was shivering again, realizing the way that she was viewing Edward as a threat... that she was growling at him... that she was about to attack him. None of that was right and she was happy when she ran away from him. Then she sighed in relief when she was running away. She wasn't going to go after those people and she wasn't going to fight with Edward.

"Do you realize how amazing it was that you were able to do that?" Edward whispered to her and she shook her head. "Not one of us would have been able to stop ourselves from the hunt like that..."

"Not even Carlisle?" Bella questioned.

"I can't be a hundred percent sure, for of course he never faced anyone during a hunt like this before, but yes, I think even Carlisle would find it impossible to stop," Edward said.

"Wow," Bella said, shocked by her control. "Do you think I'll have the same amount of control when I'm turned?"

"Probably," Edward said.

Bella started reading again, and soon enough she was glaring at Edward. She had honestly believed that she had been faster than Edward and now it seems he was just letting her win, argh... that's annoying. Of course that didn't really matter so she just pressed on reading. She read as Edward explained that she wasn't supposed to be able to do, that it was like she was decades old not days. She felt smug, but she listened to what her book self had thought; **But I'd known it was going to be hard. That was why I'd been so on guard.** She vowed not to take this lightly just because she heard that it would be easy for her. She didn't want to let some kind of slip up happen because she was overconfident about her abilities.

Then she was off hunting again, this time a mountain lion and it was clawing at her, but unable to hurt her. By the time she was finished with the lion she was a bloody mess.

"So you're still going to worry about me when I become a vampire," Bella said after Edward had said that he was having an anxiety attack watching her fight a lion.

"I don't know," Edward sighed. "For a while at least I think I'm going to be even more neurotic in trying to keep you safe than even Jasper is with Alice."

"Well, I don't think you have to worry," Bella said.

"Of course not, but it will still be hard for me to see that you're in danger and not do anything to stop it, even knowing that nothing could hurt you then," Edward shrugged.

She went back to reading and smiled when she read what Edward looked like when he was hunting, she really wanted to see what that was like. She loved her thoughts about Edward, of how much she wanted him still... how the feel of his body made her want him to her core. No, she wouldn't mind at all if her only ability was to love Edward. Still, as much as she wanted to hear about her feelings for Edward, she did want to hear about her daughter more.

She moved on excitedly to the next chapter, hoping it would start right away with her meeting her daughter, but it didn't of course. It started where it left off in the last chapter, but that was okay, because she loved reading about Edward describing their child. It was similar to the way he had earlier today, but there was more to it... this Edward had really met the baby and so knew her so much more.

She grimaced when she got to the part where Edward mentioned Jacob, what the hell were they going to do about it? She didn't really want to come up with any conclusions until hearing more, but as things were right now, she was going to wait a few years... perhaps ten or more... let her daughter at least finish grade school before there was someone devoted to her. But she wasn't going to make up her mind until she was finished reading this book.

Her bitter thoughts about Jacob imprinting on her daughter didn't stop her from getting tense when she heard that Jacob was willing to test her control with himself. She had to admit in that second that his caution and willingness to put himself in danger to protect her daughter was a point in his favor. She was also pleased when he didn't smell anything like food... though she wasn't looking forward to the fact that he would smell bad, it was nice to know that she would never feel like hunting him or any of the other wolves. When Emmett chuckled from the house when she was still outside talking to Jacob, she wondered how her book self was going to take the news that Jacob had imprinted on her daughter. Judging by her own angry reaction, it wasn't going to be pretty. The point that Jacob had gotten had almost immediately disappeared when he wondered if it was okay if she could see her own daughter. What right did he have to tell her what to do? If Edward thought she was ready, that should be good enough for everyone else!

"She's still growing fast!" Bella said surprised.

"Oh... it looks like I forget to tell you that," Edward sighed. "Yes, she is still going to grow and develop very fast."

"But she's going to be alright, right?" Bella said. "How long will she be growing?"

"In seven years she'll be an adult," Edward sighed, but then smiled, "and after that she'll stop ageing."

"Seven years," Bella sighed, there goes her ten year plan. It seemed that Renesmee would physically look like she was ten in just a few years. It was sad to think that she would have such a short time with her daughter being little. However, she thought of her own relationship with her mum and she knew that it only grew the older she got. Though it would be sad that Renesmee wouldn't have a normal childhood, it was okay, for all that really mattered was she was going to be okay in the end.

"I know," Edward sighed too and Bella looked up and knew he was thinking the same thing as her.

She started reading again. Though she didn't like being thought of as a threat, she loved that her family was so quick to protect her daughter. It was nice knowing that there were so many people willing to help her. She was even happier when she heard that Renesmee's scent didn't make her thirsty... that she smelled enough like a vampire that she didn't have to worry about hurting her.

"Did you really have to make it seem like I hunted humans?" Bella grumbled.

"I didn't have to," Edward chuckled. "It was just funny."

"Yeah, hilarious," Bella rolled her eyes and then started reading again.

She again was smiling when she read that Renesmee wanted her and then she was annoyed because Jacob was hesitating to give her Renesmee... it was so annoying that he thought that he had the right... she was the baby's mother after all, she had the right to hold her child! Of course then she was and her irritation vanished.

"Whoa, what is that?" Bella asked when she saw the vision that Renesmee shared with her.

"Our daughter is very gifted," Edward smiled.

"I'd say," Bella said.

"She was showing you her memories of what happened," Edward smiled, "it seems that she's able to project her thoughts into other people's minds whenever she touches them."

"Wow," Bella said, "... but wait... how does that work on me... I thought my mind was safe?"

Edward chuckled. "It seems like you came to that conclusion a lot quicker than your book self did."

"That doesn't really explain how that happened," Bella said, though she felt a little smug.

"My book self thinks it's because Renesmee is irresistible," Edward explained. "That there is nothing that could keep her out."

"Okay," Bella said, feeling better about that and then smiled as she went back to the book. She smiled brighter when she read that she could now connect with her daughter... that she was no longer a stranger, but back to being her little nudger.

Bella groaned when Jacob again made his presence known, telling her not to push her luck. It was so annoying that he was interfering when all she wanted was to connect with her daughter. Then her book self realized what was going on and she was giving Rose the baby. She couldn't help but smile when she was glaring at Jacob... angrily. It didn't matter that he was trying to use her words against her, saying that they were always supposed to be in each other's lives. Now wasn't really the time for that. She didn't blame herself at all for lunging at Jacob after learning of the nickname he called her daughter.

"Our daughter's nickname will not be Nessie!" Bella said firmly and didn't appreciate that Edward's lips were thin. "What?"

"Well it's just... um... we're sort of used to the name already," Edward shrugged.

"Well then get un-used to it!" Bella huffed. "Honestly, there are plenty of other nicknames to call her other than Nessie!"

"Emmett's favorite is little nudger," Edward said.

Bella blushed, liking the fact that it was her private nickname for her daughter, but the truth was that she liked the idea of calling her daughter that rather than Nessie. "We'll see."

"Yes, we will," Edward chuckled, "and I just have to warn you that Nessie will grow on you."

"That's just fantastic," Bella groaned before going on to the next chapter.

"I attacked Seth!" Bella moaned miserably; at the moment that was the last wolf in the world she would want to hurt.

"Unfortunately..." Edward sighed, "But it probably helped you control yourself... and it's a good thing you didn't actually get your hands on Jacob for who knows what you would have done."

"Yeah," Bella flinched, realizing that she likely would really have hurt him, and knowing that she didn't really want that. "But it still sucks that Seth had to get hurt."

"I know," Edward agreed.

She read on and said, "Argh, you could at least let me apologize."

"But you didn't really do anything..." Edward said.

"Of course I did," Bella rolled her eyes.

"Okay... if this happens in our reality, I'll let you apologize," Edward said, knowing that it might ease her mind a little if she was allowed to apologize even if the apology was otherwise useless.

"Venom is poison to the wolves!" Bella exclaimed.

"Yeah... the wolves would much rather die than turn into one of us," Edward said.

"I suppose that makes sense, but it's kind of dangerous to them too... I mean all you would have to do to defeat the wolves was bite them and they're dead," Bella said, shivering at the idea.

"I don't think it works quite that fast," Edward said, "but yes, it is dangerous to them. However, our kind doesn't really feel inclined to bite the wolves... they just smell so bad."

"I suppose," Bella said and then started reading again.

"Hm... so if the pack ever had a problem with me having a baby we can just tell them that Jacob would imprint on her and that will make sure the wolves would never bother us," Bella noted after reading that part in the book and Edward nodded his head. "Do you think they will be okay if I was transformed then... knowing that it was the only way I could have the baby and still exist... in some way at least?"

"Well, when you put it like that, I'm sure they would be," Edward said. "But that's only if they know about this... if you actually want to tell them."

"Good point... I'm not sure I do," Bella frowned. "But then again, it might help the relationship your family has with them... wouldn't that be important?"

"Yes, but we're okay with the way things are now," Edward said. "We can talk about this later... after you know everything."

"Okay," Bella agreed to that and then started reading again. She found it intriguing that the Alpha's could hear each other, at least when they were directing their thoughts to one another when they were in their wolf forms.

"Do you think that the book Jacob would have accepted me for who I was if he didn't imprint on Renesmee?" Bella questioned.

"I can't really know that, but it seems likely," Edward said. "You're still Bella, even more so than any of us thought you would be at this time... he would have seen that I'm sure."

She kept reading as her book self thought about Jacob and what she had once said to him, agreeing with indignation and snorting at the thought that whoever he would imprint on wouldn't be good enough... as if... she was too good for him... for anyone. At that thought though, a part of her was able to think that if her daughter had to like someone (and at such a young age) it was best it was with someone she got along with... that she really cared about. Grumbling in annoyance at her own thoughts, she read on.

She was curious when Carlisle started measuring Renesmee and wondered what was really going on. She realized, a bit slowly, that none of them in the book knew what was going on with her... that they were worried about how fast she was growing. She sighed, knowing that this worry was going to be a predominate part of the book. She was just happy that Edward said that she was going to be okay, or she would have been worried the whole time too. She read on, again annoyed at Jacob's overbearing mother routine, knowing for sure that she wasn't going to put up with him being around if he was going to act like that. Then again, he wouldn't really react like that if he knew Renesmee wasn't in any danger; at least Quil didn't seem to be like that with Claire...

She sighed when Renesmee showed her the attack that she had just made against Jacob, and how she was happy that Jacob wasn't hurt... how Renesmee thought of him as being hers. She was wondering if it was really right for her to keep her daughter away from someone like Jacob was going to be to her... was it right to keep Jacob away from her daughter? She wasn't sure... it was all confusing and she didn't like any of this.

She was glad when she started reading the book again that it was about Renesmee showing her everything that she had missed the last few days. She liked the idea that her daughter wanted her to know that. She was wary when Renesmee showed her feeding, and was relieved when it was just a false alarm, that she was okay. She was a little worried about Jasper when he left, wondering if he was going be okay, and she felt badly for making him question himself.

"Do you really think that's my power... self control?" Bella said.

"Bella, I know what your power is," Edward rolled his eyes. "Though I'm not sure this is a special ability... I tend to think it's mostly because you were aware of what was going to happen and because you've always had a good control over your emotions... you tend to control yourself better than most humans, it stands to reason that you have that same control as a vampire."

Bella went back to reading, listening to what Renesmee thought and smiled when she found she could see her daughter's dreams. She was a bit smug that she was in her daughter's dreams so much but she was unhappy that Edward wasn't... that their daughter dreamed more of Jacob than Edward. Then Alice came back and she found out that it was her nineteenth birthday.

She read the next chapter, sighing when she read Edward and Alice fighting over whose present she opened first... as if it really mattered to her. She realized what Edward was going to show her easily enough and was glad that Alice was going to get to go first; she couldn't care less about a car. Now she rolled her eyes at Alice's theatrics... did she really need to be blindfolded?

As she read about the house her eyes lit up. She never really thought about it... where she would like to live with Edward... or living with him alone somewhere. Actually she had just assumed that they would be staying at the Cullens' house, but this was so much better. She seemed to be falling in love with the little cottage that would be perfect for her and Edward... and it even had a room for Renesmee. She loved the description of their room too, from the hidden garden to the fact that it had reminders of Isle Esme.

Again she found herself getting impatient to be a vampire already... the more she read about being a vampire the more she wanted to be one... it seemed like she was waiting now for her life to really begin. But she would be patient, let things happen the way they are supposed so she wouldn't miss anything important... anything that made this life perfect.

"Is it really that hard for you when you kiss me?" Bella asked, smiling and yet sad about Edward talking about her being a vampire. Smiling, because he seemed truly happy that she was turned, and sad because she was only human now.

"Yes and no," Edward answered cryptically and she rolled her eyes at him. He chuckled before saying, "Yes, my throat burns whenever I kiss you... but that doesn't mean that I don't love kissing you... That it isn't the best feeling in the world when I kiss you."

"Hm... okay," Bella said blushing and she blushed even more with the next conversation about when her need to be with Edward was going to loosen and he told her it was all about finding balance. She had to admit she never really thought about what the Cullens did at night.

She read on to the next chapter, rolling her eyes at the _'closet'_ that Alice had made for them. Like she needed anything like that, though she did like how Edward showed her how to identify the different types of clothing. Though she liked reading about her time alone with Edward she also liked reading about Renesmee, so she was okay with going back to the Cullens' house. She smiled as she read about Renesmee playing with the spoons and everything seemed perfect, she could have done without Emmett's comments about what she and Edward were doing last night, though at least she was able to keep her temper. However, when Alice came grumbling about Jacob doing something that made the future blank, she got tense. She didn't like where this was going at all and felt even worse when she learned that Charlie was going to come over.

"I'm not going to hurt him, am I?" she looked immediately at Edward, the panic clear in her eyes so there was no question about him answering her with a smile and whisper, "of course not."

Bella let out a relieved breath, but that didn't stop her from being angry. "How could he gamble with Charlie's safety like that?"

"I believe he was under the impression that you wouldn't hurt him," Edward sighed. "Which, of course, he was right, but that doesn't excuse the fact that something terrible could have happened. He was ignorant of how much this would hurt you because you seemed so controlled."

"Hmph," Bella huffed.

"And he believed that we were going to leave and take Renesmee with us," Edward added.

"Hmph," Bella repeated, that didn't really help her mood right now.

She started reading again, not very happy at all about what was going on. She hated Jacob's cocky attitude... as if he did something great, what a freaking jerk.

"HE DID WHAT?" Bella exclaimed, looking shocked and white. "How could he just phase in front of Charlie? Doesn't he realize how impossible it is to take seeing something like that? Charlie could have had a heart attack."

Bella continued to rumble on and Edward tried his best to soothe her, it worked, though it took a while for her to cool down.

"What do you have to say about this?" Bella said, looking at Edward, noticing that he didn't really agree with her at any point.

"If you want to keep your dad in your life, this might be the best option," Edward sighed, "though of course we can hope to find an easier way to inform him of this than having Jacob phase in front of him."

Bella's eyes were narrowed as she turned back to the book to read. However, she did have to admit that knowing that she wasn't going to hurt Charlie and hearing about Jacob's explanation... especially about the part where her dad didn't want to know more about the supernatural stuff seemed good. It was nice to know that Charlie could be part of her life still.

Then she was preparing to look as human as possible for Charlie, putting in brown contacts and learning how to fidget like humans do... it was really odd hearing about that. Then Edward was explaining the situation to Renesmee, telling her she couldn't bite Charlie or show him her thoughts like she does to everyone else. Then he was there and she was holding her breath, as she had read Edward do in _Midnight Sun,_ trying not to be overrun by Charlie's scent. Of course that couldn't last forever, she had to talk to her dad, but Edward was holding on to her and she was able to stiffen her body before she was breathing...

She cringed at the pain, and worse, the longing she had when she inhaled Charlie's scent... it was hard to read that he was mouthwatering to her... it was just so wrong. And yet she was pleased, she wasn't attacking him, even though the scent was so tempting, she didn't do anything at all to hurt him. She was even able to have a conversation with him.

Then the attention was on Renesmee and she wondered how Edward came up with a story so quickly to describe where she came from. Of course the story didn't matter at all as soon as Charlie saw Renesmee's eyes and knew she had to be her real daughter, even if the math didn't work in any way a human could comprehend... she was still having trouble with it.

"She can really understand... even though she's just a few days old," Bella said.

"Yes, she is quite the learner," Edward smiled smugly.

Though she was quite pleased by Emmett's interruption she could have done without the double entendres. She moved on to the next chapter quickly, sighing when she realized it would be difficult to keep her mom in the loop as well, but hoping she could figure some way to do it. Surely they weren't in as much danger as they were in the books because the Volturi didn't even know she existed. She shivered as soon as she thought of the Volturi and quickly read on. She rolled her eyes when she read that Emmett kept on teasing her... pushing her buttons when she was already having a stressful enough time. That didn't mean she was unable to smile when she read about how much her dad seemed to like Renesmee, it was nice to see him like that. She also liked Renesmee's middle name, Carlie.

She smirked when Edward reminded her of the challenge she was supposed to make with Emmett, he really needed to get beat for all the comments he was making and she kind of really liked it that she was the one that was going to do it.

"I wish that I can really have won that bet," Bella said when she read about the terms of the arm wrestling match that she was about to have. Then she frowned, trying to think of a time that Emmett had ever said anything inappropriate in front of her.

"Jasper and Emmett obviously made a bet on the outcome of this fight," Edward said when he noticed her confused expression. "And Jasper made it so the terms of this bet would be upheld if he... or I should say, you, won."

"So basically Emmett isn't allowed to tease me about our..." Bella said starting to blush.

"Exactly," Edward said pinching the bridge of his nose, "me on the other hand... I've had to suffer through many forms of teasing from my dear brother."

Bella just chuckled at that before she started reading again. Smiled even more smugly when she read about how very easy it was for her to win the contest.

"What am I doing?" Bella questioned when she was punching the rock to dusk.

"Having a little fun it seems," Edward chuckled. "It is quite amazing discovering just how strong you are when you first turn."

Bella shook her head and went back to reading, finding herself smiling more than ever as she read about Renesmee's attempts to destroy her own piece of rock. And then the sun was coming up and she was seeing Edward in the light and of course it was different than it was when she was human and of course she wouldn't really understand the difference until she was a vampire. And Renesmee definitely looked different in the sun, but it wasn't so much that it would keep her from being around humans when it was sunny. And she loved the ending of this chapter... it just confirmed her theory that she was always supposed to be a vampire.

"I think that's enough for the night," Edward said and she looked at the clock and realized how late it was. She sighed, but agreed with him. She was just going to have to find out what was going to happen tomorrow... she expected it was going to be dangerous whatever it was for Edward to stop her like this.

She woke up early, ate quickly and dove into the book again as soon as she sat down on the couch.

The chapter started with it skipping ahead three months and describing how things worked out. Describing the people that were important to her and how they were able to still be in her life. She smiled as she read all of this, how everything just seemed to be perfect. Though it was still a little sad reading about how fast Renesmee was growing... the advantage was that she didn't have to worry like her book self did that she would grow old in fifteen years. She knew she would have her daughter forever so it wasn't hard to read this part.

"Do you think it would have hurt her if she was bit by one of us," Bella questioned, paling at her own question.

"I have no idea," Edward sighed. "Part of me wants to say no, but at the same time I can't be sure. I'm sure Carlisle will be happy to run some tests to check that out."

"Okay," Bella smiled at the thought and then continued to read. Reading about the trip they planned on going on to try to figure out the roots of what Kaure was talking about. Then they were talking about a much darker trip... one where she was going to have to see the Volturi... alone. It was her book self's idea to go alone and she quite agreed with it, but that didn't mean that she wasn't terrified of the idea of going there... facing the monsters all by herself. However, it was the only way to protect Renesmee from them and she knew that was very important. Of course Edward didn't agree with her but that wasn't going to change her mind. Still, she found herself yet again wondering what was going to happen when she met the Volturi in real life... a thought that made her shiver.

She grumbled when she was on a hunting trip with Jacob and Renesmee. She was sort of upset because she could kind of see the plus side of having Jacob around... she could see that Renesmee would like having him around. It was hard thinking about this so she carried on reading, almost smiling when she spotted the strange blonde vampire in the tree, figuring it would be Irina, but she noticed that Edward stiffened. Worry filled her, was she wrong... was this vampire going to attack her family or something? But no, she was leaving... after growling... so what was the matter?

"Edward...?" Bella asked slightly worried.

"Just keep reading," Edward said softly and she did as she was told, the chapter ending with the Cullens trying to find their cousin.

She was tense as she moved on to the next chapter, as she read that Irina had vanished and her guilt over that happening. She wasn't feeling as guilty as she read though... she felt nervous... knowing something terrible was coming. The chapter moved on to talk about the trip to the Amazon they were planning, but this did little to stop her from worrying and she shuddered when Alice dropped the vase.

"The Volturi!" Bella groaned.

"Don't worry... we will make sure this never happens," Edward said soothing her.

"This, maybe not, but that doesn't mean that nothing is going to happen," Bella said. "This isn't some enemy that you and your family could go out to fight..."

"No, it's not," Edward sighed. "But they don't know about us, and therefore will not be a threat to us."

"As long as they don't know about us," Bella said. "But that doesn't mean that as soon as they find out about us that something like this will happen."

Edward's eyes grew sad, "I know... but for right now, we are safe..."

Bell sighed and then went back to reading. This threat seemed to scare her to her core as she read on... finding out they only had little more than a month. Learning that all of the Volturi, every single member was going to be coming. But the worst part was reading that they were coming because they believed that Renesmee was an immortal child... that they were going to pay for something that they didn't even do... and that it was Irina that had told on them. She looked at Edward after reading this and he was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"As you can imagine, it was hard for us to read this part," Edward said in a grave tone, though his mind was also on what was to become of Irina in the end. "This was why I would have liked to have just killed Laurent so that I was sure there would be no future danger..."

"I'm not sure that would have been right," Bella found herself mumbling, confusing herself a little. For right now all she could think of was keeping her daughter and family safe.

"Hm... Esme didn't think it was either," Edward sighed. "She thought that this should mean that Irina and Laurent were mates and it was wrong for us to prevent her from meeting him. But that's beside the point now, the important thing is that we are not going to let this happen. We're going to let our cousins know from the beginning about your pregnancy so that they don't ever get the wrong idea..."

"And they would be particularly prone to reacting this way because of their mother..." Bella sighed, remembering the story at the beginning of the books.

"Yes," Edward sighed, too. His eyes grew sad as he added, "that was extremely hard on them. I'm sure that Irina wouldn't have reacted that way if it weren't for Laurent, but we are still not going to take any chances with this."

Bella nodded her head, this discussion had in some ways alleviated her worries, but it didn't really make her feel better. She was numb as she continued to read, hating when Emmett talked about fighting, she didn't want her family fighting. And to bring others in... it made her shudder, and yet if it was going to save her child and her family it was all she could ask for. Besides, they weren't really planning on fighting, they were planning on stalling the Volturi... making them see that Renesmee wasn't a danger to them in any way.

She was wary of the way that Alice had left the house... she seemed to be keeping something from them and she didn't like it. But Jacob was coming, and they had to explain to him the terror that was coming for them all.


	23. Reading Breaking Dawn Part Four

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story for me.**

Chapter Twenty-Three

Reading Breaking Dawn Part Four

Bella groaned at the title of the next chapter. Defection... who was defecting and what did it mean? She kept reading, feeling even more nervous as she read the first line. She couldn't believe that Alice would be the one that would defect, but why else wouldn't she come back? She realized quickly what other reason Alice wouldn't come back and that made her feel even worse. It felt bad racing towards Alice, not sure what they were going to find, but knowing that both options would hurt. She wondered what the other trail that Esme mentioned meant, but it mattered little now, she needed to know what happened to Alice.

Then they ran into Sam, and found that he had allowed Alice and Jasper to go on their land and he had a note for the Cullens. A note that said that she and Jasper had left them.

"I can't believe that she really left like that," Bella sighed. It never occurred to her that any one of the Cullens would leave if the family was in danger... that just didn't feel right. She thought of the Alice she knew and tried to think of something that would show signs that she had in fact left the Cullens like this, with just a warning, a list of things they should do and vampires they should get in touch with. It didn't make sense. "Is this for real?"

"You're just going to have to read to see," Edward said.

"Fine," Bella sighed, "but I'm going to choose to believe that something else is going on here until it's proven that I'm wrong."

She read again, it seemed the wolves were angered by Alice's disappearance and though she knew that they wouldn't listen she wished that they could have taken Edward's advice about this. It was dangerous and they need not be hurt or killed like they were sure to be when the Volturi arrived. Like her book self she was curious as to why Alice had ripped the page out of her book, so she was all for following this other trail, and even with not having Edward with her. It felt good that there was a note in the book, though of course she didn't know what the hell it was supposed to mean. It just felt like Alice hadn't truly abandoned her (them) if she was leaving a note like this.

"Is Alice using the fact that you can't read my mind as a way to try to tell me something that you shouldn't know?" she asked as she looked at Edward to see if he was going to tell her what it meant, but he didn't say a word. So she was left to reading the book to find out the answer. She was grimacing soon, however, feeling uncomfortable again when her book self was explaining a reason why Alice would want to leave... that it would be to protect Jasper. It was not hard to believe that she would do anything to protect Jasper.

When they got back to the house everyone seemed to be in motion. Carlisle and Esme were going to look up some of his old friends and ask if they would help them and Rosalie and Emmett were going to look for nomads. Edward, Renesmee and she were supposed to stay behind and explain what was happening to all the vampires that were hopefully going to help them out. This idea terrified her as much as it gave her hope. What happens if these vampires rejected Renesmee, wouldn't that put them in more danger? But then again, they were all going to be killed if they didn't have support... there was nothing else they could do but hope that everything would work out.

She grimaced when she learned that Renesmee already seemed to know about the danger that they were in, that Jacob had told her. She had wished that Renesmee could have been spared from this kind of worry, but then again her daughter was so observant, she would notice how worried everyone was and it was best not to lie to her.

Then she was trying to find out who this J. Jenks guy was, trying to keep it from everyone again. It was odd reading about her deliberately keeping something from Edward. She had always tried to be honest with him, of course she kept some of her more embarrassing thoughts to herself, but this was so different. It was intriguing to read about this, though she seriously hoped that she would never have to try to do anything like this in this reality... that she would never have the need to.

So Jenks was a lawyer, huh, how was that supposed to help? She knew right away that her book self was right, that Alice would know that she would want to save Renesmee, and that she would give her that way. It was heartbreaking reading about Renesmee comforting her, how the mother-daughter bond had reversed.

She went on to the next chapter, hoping that _Irresistible_ was going to mean something good. She sighed immediately at all of her thoughts, mostly the one where she didn't know how to fight. She had hoped that if there was another threat to her family that she would be able to at least help, but it seemed that she wouldn't be of much use in this conflict.

She really wished that she could have been distracted like she had been in the book, and contemplated turning around and kissing Edward, but that wasn't really going to make things better and she wanted to know what was going to happen too much to do that.

"Do you have a problem with me knowing how to fight?" Bella asked Edward.

"I would prefer it if you were never in a fight," Edward said.

"Me too, but it could only help to know how to fight," Bella shrugged.

"That's true, but I really doubt I can be the one to teach you that," Edward sighed, "I will say this later in the book, but I can't help to agree with it. I can't ever think of you that way... looking for your weaknesses and ways to hurt you... I just can't do that."

"I understand," Bella sighed, "I suppose I just have to get Emmett and Jasper to help me..."

"I'm sure they will love to do that," Edward chuckled and Bella turned back to the book.

She shivered when Edward explained what Alec could do, how he could make it so everyone, not just a single person, was blind, unfeeling. It was unnerving, and surprisingly it wasn't too comforting knowing that she would be the only one immune to his powers. That to give her family any kind of hope she would have to find a way to destroy him. That didn't seem likely, not when before her stood the whole Volturi army, but she would have to try.

Then her book self was thinking about fighting Demetri, a fight that she had no chance at all of winning, and yet she knew that vampire had to die. He was the one that could lead the Volturi to them... to Alice and to anyone that was running from them. If nothing else Demetri had to be taken care of. The book Edward seemed to have the same idea, and though she knew it had to happen she wasn't looking forward to a fight between them. Would Edward be able to handle that fight?

She was shocked when she learned that Eleazar had once been part of the Volturi. She felt uncomfortable at the mere mention of the Volturi and the fact that Eleazar was one of them made her question him, but Edward seemed to trust him so that was enough for her. It was interesting hearing about what powers Eleazar had, being able to sense what gifts vampires could use. She could see how Aro would love to have someone like that around, using him to find powerful vampires to collect. She was really surprised that Aro had actually let him go, it seemed like Eleazar's gift was something that he wouldn't want to part with.

Then they were waiting for the Denali's to get there, she was with Renesmee and Jacob. Renesmee questioned were she belonged and Bella's heart sighed. It must be so hard on her daughter knowing that she was different from everyone, that there wasn't anywhere that she truly fit in. She felt worse when Renesmee blamed herself for the trouble that was coming for them.

"She had too much of you in her," Bella informed Edward. "Believing that she's the reason for something like this."

"Actually, I was thinking she was more like you," Edward chuckled. "You're the one that always seems to think that you cause the trouble that comes for my family."

"What about the fact that you're always calling yourself a monster for reasons that aren't remotely right," Bella countered.

Edward rolled his eyes. "There is definitely a basis for my thoughts, I have..."

"Edward, what..." Bella tried to interrupt, but Edward just shook his head.

"I don't think we're ever going to agree on this," he said, "so you might as well just keep reading."

"Fine," Bella huffed and then started reading again. Soon after that the Denali's were there and Edward was trying to explain to them what was going on. Making them listen to Renesmee's heartbeat and take in her scent, all in the hope that they would be able to see that she wasn't an immortal child, that she was a living, growing being.

They did not react well at all at first and Bella nervously read on as they seemed to go crazy over the fact that Edward had apparently made an immortal child.

"Is everyone going to react like this?" Bella fretted.

"Actually no, I think they probably took it the hardest," Edward said almost chuckling, but there was no smile on his face when he added, "given what happened in their past it's to be expected."

"I guess," Bella said, before starting to read again as they started to slowly listen to what Edward had to say. She was really glad that Carmen, who seemed to be the most open minded of the vampires there (even Eleazar was completely freaked out, but she supposed that had to do with the fact that he had worked for the Volturi and had seen what they could do first hand). Carmen seemed to have taken a liking to Renesmee and allowed Renesmee to show her memories of Renesmee's life.

It was remarkable how quickly everything settled down when Renesmee showed them her memories; they must have been so full of truth that no one could deny them. It was nice that at least one thing was easy, for even though the Denali's believed them there was still so much that had to be done.

Of course as soon as the Denali's found out that Irina was the one that had betrayed them the commotion raised again. They seemed to be appalled that their sister would have done this to the Cullens and were willing to stand by the Cullens in the upcoming fight. She quickly read on to the next chapter, confused by the title but didn't pay much attention to it.

"A shield?" Bella mumbled. "Is that what I am?"

"Yes," Edward smiled.

Bella continued to read this part, now fascinated to learn more about the mystery that is her brain. She was a little wary when Eleazar mentioned that she was something that Aro had him search the whole world for. She really hoped that she would never be able to come across Aro in this reality; she didn't want him to become interested in her ever.

"Will that work... will I be able to project my ability onto others?" Bella questioned looking hopeful. That would be awesome. She would finally have a way to help her family in some way if she could somehow protect them from the dangerous abilities of others.

Edward didn't answer but she could tell from his smile that it was true. She couldn't wait until her book self started exploring this more.

Her excitement waned a little when she listened to what Edward and Eleazar were talking about. She could tell it was something big even before Eleazar had said what he was thinking and she was disappointed. Apparently the Volturi have been using their stature as rulers to conquer weaker covens and talked the gifted members into serving them. It seemed despicable that they would abuse the trust that the vampire community seemed to put in them, but she couldn't help but think that Eleazar was right about this.

She didn't like the sound of this Chelsea, who had the power to strengthen or weaken the bonds that vampires have with one another. She had the ability to both strengthen the Volturi, making them to fight together easily, and cause anyone that her family got on their side and make them change their minds if she so wished to.

She was almost able to smile when she thought of Alice leaving because she wanted to make sure that Aro wouldn't get what he wanted, knowing that he was coming to collect members of her family and Alice was his top pick. However, the talk turned to how Aro could capture them and make them bend to his will. It was true, if Edward was ever under Aro's power she would have no choice but to do what Aro said, and she knew that Edward felt the same way.

Bella started to get nervous again when Peter and Charlotte came, hoping that they would accept Renesmee. She was pleased that the next chapter seemed to show that Renesmee had no problem convincing the others what she was and that everyone for the most part seemed to like her. She found it really interesting reading about all the different vampires from the different places. It was also fascinating to read about the different powers they had. Like the Irish Coven, Maggie, who could tell automatically when someone was lying. The Egyptian, Benjamin, who was supposedly very special because he was physically able to control the elements (his power wasn't in the mind like most vampire abilities were). Edward seemed to really like this vampire and Bella found that she did too. She didn't really like Amun, Benjamin's creator. Then there was Zafrina, who was able to make any powerful illusion that she wanted. Renesmee seemed to really like Zafrina and the pretty things she could show her, and Bella found that she would have liked to have seen these visions too, but unfortunately that wasn't possible for her.

The other good thing about the arrival of Zafrina was that Alice seemed to have sent her there and that was unexpected. It seemed to make Bella hope that she was right in thinking that Alice was up to something. There were plenty of other vampires there that didn't have special powers, but none of them really seemed to be featured much besides Garrett, who she found she really liked.

She read through the part where she was learning how to fight physically and she wondered how much she was really learning, how useful she would actually be in that fight. However, when it came to the mental side of her training, when she was trying to see if she could project her powers, she found herself getting excited. Of course she didn't really like that Edward was the one that had to pay if she made a mistake. She hated that Edward had to be hurt like that and she found that she didn't like Kate that much... she sighed, trying to remember that Kate was just trying to help her.

"Edward, do you think I could do this now?" Bella asked.

"Project your gift... while you're still human?" Edward said and Bella nodded her head. "I don't know, I suppose it wouldn't hurt if you try, but don't be discouraged if it doesn't work. Your gift might have manifested itself as much as is humanly possible."

"How would I work on it," Bella mused to herself, but decided to read on and see if there were any keys to her ability in the book.

Naturally that thought went out the window when Kate was suggesting that she was going to try her shock ability on Renesmee. As if it wasn't bad enough to hear about Edward getting hurt but the thought of her little girl getting hurt was unbearable. She grumbled when she realized that this was all a trick to get her to put up her shield better and it had shown her the key that she needed to know how to make her shield work. She had to be so furious that she sees red. She sighed, she didn't really see that happening while she was still human, so it was unlikely that she would be able to do anything with her powers.

That didn't really matter now that she saw how much she was progressing in such a short amount of time, and she was happy that Zafrina had taken over and she was still able to use her gift. It was interesting when Edward had said that he could hear people's thoughts when they were under her shield, which meant that all the powers would work while she was shielding all of them. She felt sort of proud that she was able to protect so many people before her powers snapped back to her and she was confident that with more time she would get better.

"Is there something going on between Kate and Garrett?" Bella questioned as she read about Garrett testing Kate's ability.

"There might be," Edward chuckled.

"Have you sent him to the Denali's as you did with Laurent?" Bella asked.

"Naturally Alice is trying to, she has been since we read this," Edward said. "She likes the idea of playing matchmaker, but she still hasn't been able to find him."

"I suppose it would be difficult to find other vampires when you want to," Bella sighed.

"Some are harder than others," Edward said his voice growing cold as he added, "We didn't have much problem finding James, but he liked his games so much that he made clear decisions that pointed him out to Alice. Garrett on the other hand apparently doesn't make any decisions at all. Alice is actually quite annoyed with him."

"I bet she is, messing with her great plans," Bella chuckled and Edward joined her.

She started reading again not too long after that. She had to admit that she was a little wary of the Romanians. Unlike most of the other vampires there, who for the most part were traditional vampires and hunted humans, they truly seemed dangerous. The others all seemed to be almost human in the way that they reacted, but the Romanians didn't care for that and she had no trouble imagining them as the monsters that vampires were portrayed to be.

She moved on to the next chapter, which started with her taking Renesmee, along with Jacob, to visit Charlie. However, the main point of this chapter was so she could go to Seattle to find out who this Jenks guy was, and why Alice wanted her to see him. Given the title, _Forgery_ , she had a good idea what was going to happen. Before she got to make her trip however, there was a nice scene with her dad and how much he seemed to take to being a grandpa. It was nice to see him act like that; he seemed to be really happy. She also noticed that Sue was mentioned a lot whenever her dad was and wondered if something was going on between the two of them.

"Do you think there's something going on between my dad and Sue, or is she just helping him to adjust to the supernatural?" Bella asked looking at Edward.

"Honestly, it seems like there's something going on between them," Edward answered.

"Oh," Bella sighed, thinking about that and knowing that it wasn't likely to happen in this reality because Harry hopefully wasn't going to have a heart attack.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked as she continued to stare at the book, but not reading it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she mumbled, even though she had been thinking about how much things had changed because they had this warning, and she wondered if her dad was going to have a chance to be happy now that they did this.

"Are you wondering if we shouldn't have warned them about Harry's heart attack?" Edward questioned.

"In a way, but I know that was the right thing to do," Bella frowned. "I think even my dad, given the choice, would have chosen to save his friend's life. It's just... I hope there's some way that my dad could find happiness... you know like he seems to be in this book. I don't like thinking that I've stopped him from getting that."

"I'm sure he'll be okay somehow," Edward sighed. There was really nothing else he could say, he couldn't really guarantee this.

Bella nodded her head and then started reading again.

"There's a way for me to drop my shield all together!" Bella said shocked, as she read her training sessions with Zafrina.

"Apparently," Edward said smiling. "I wouldn't mind you try to figure that one out as soon as possible... I would love to hear what you're thinking."

"I'm sure you would," Bella smiled at him. "But I don't know... it sounds like that's even harder for me to do than to try to project my gift."

"I know," Edward sighed this time.

She started reading again as her book self made her way to the city to find J. Jenks and she frowned at the mention of the part of town that Alice had sent her. Why had Alice sent her to such a crappy place? Well, at least she knew she was at the right place when the _'bum'_ in nice clothing was talking her, and then calling J. Jenks. She wondered why it was the Cullen name that had gotten Jenks to respond and why he had reacted so strongly, too. It was obvious that he was afraid of the Cullens, but that was okay, at least she knew that he would likely help her and that was what was important.

She was pleased with the meeting with Jenks, knowing that this was going to be a way to ensure her daughter's safety. However, she frowned when her book self thought that this was a hopeless case now, because Alice was giving her a way to protect Renesmee. She knew that Alice was trying to give Renesmee a way out, but did it really mean that there was no hope? Somehow she couldn't believe that, not with Edward holding her, not being tense, as if waiting for something horrible to happen. Surely that meant that everything would be okay in the end.

She continued reading the rest of the chapter while she thought about this. She sighed, but had to admit that her book self had a point about Jacob being the one to go with Renesmee. She knew that Jacob would do everything he could to keep her safe, that he would protect her and care for her. Still, she was glad that she was never going to have to make a decision like this. She sighed at the end of the chapter when she mentioned how hard it was to keep this away from Edward and how hard it was to be away from him, but she knew that this was important.

She started the next chapter and smiled at the fact that he would play her lullaby for her when she came home, but sighed at her book self's thoughts of no longer having hope.

"You had to have noticed that I was up to something," Bella said when she heard her book self think that she didn't want to leave Aro any clues.

"Agreed," Edward sighed. "I watch you much too closely not to notice when you act strangely. I think I'm also going to notice that you're so worried no matter how much you try to hide it."

"I always worry," Bella pointed out.

"But there was an obvious change in the way you were in the chapter before the last one and how you are now," Edward explained and Bella nodded her head.

Bella decided to keep reading, smiling sadly at the description of the necklace she was going to give Renesmee for Christmas, the inscription on it saying ' _more than my own life_ '. It was an accurate description, but it was also hard to read at this time, knowing what it would mean to them. Of course she would have to have more depressing thoughts of ceasing to exist, and it was really starting to get to her, making her question if she was right, would everything actually end okay... was all of her family going to be safe?

She was happy when the chapter starting talking about Christmas, and in truth it didn't seem so bad, but she really hoped that in this reality that Renesmee's first Christmas wouldn't have such gloom hanging around it. Then again, she was sure that Alice and Rosalie were likely to make a big scene of it, decorating the whole house and making sure it was the picture perfect Christmas.

When they got back to the house it seemed that there was a problem going on. Carlisle and Benjamin were arguing with Amun. The Egyptian leader seemed to think that Carlisle was trying to steal Benjamin from him, as if Carlisle would do such a thing. The root of this problem seemed to have been the fact that Alistair had left, thinking that the confrontation was going to come to a fight and he didn't want to be destroyed. He believed that there was nothing that was going to stop the Volturi from acting... that even if they realized that Renesmee wasn't an immortal child that they would find another reason to fight. Bella had to agree with him.

It seemed that Amun thought it would be a good idea to leave too, but Benjamin wanted to stay and he was such a powerful asset that Amun wasn't going to leave without him. In the end it was the fact that Benjamin put his foot down that decided that they were going to stay.

After this the Romanians started talking in a manner that she was sure was supposed to be overheard... supposed to get everyone to, as the chapter title suggested, declare themselves. Seeing as their reason for joining the Cullens was because they wanted revenge on the Volturi for overthrowing them, she was sure they were always going to decide to fight. After all, when else would they find so many vampires willing to stand up against the Volturi and have gifted vampires that were able to make the fight more even than the Volturi were used to she was sure. Therefore she believed that the discussion between them was merely a tool used to get the others to commit themselves too.

It seemed to work, for after their speech of sorts, Tia (Benjamin's mate), Garrett and Tanya all agreed to fight with the Cullens. The nomads (minus Garrett) all said they weren't decided yet, but they were going to stay and act as witnesses for them. Maggie seemed to want to join the fight, knowing that the Cullens had truth on their side, but Siobhan, the leader of the Irish coven, didn't seem as eager to join. She obviously didn't want to lose any of her coven.

"Does she really have an ability?" Bella questioned, wondering if it was true that Siobhan was able to get what she wanted as long she put her mind to envisioning the outcome.

"I think so," Edward said. "But it's not a gift that is easy to prove."

Bella nodded her head, thinking that this might mean that nothing was going to come of this fight, seeing as she was sure that Siobhan would be hoping to avoid one. Surely Edward wouldn't have answered this way if this came to a horrible fight, right?

"You're sure about the reason why Renesmee is able to get in my mind right?" Bella asked, as she was reading about her worries that her powers might not be perfect if her daughter could break through the shield.

"Yes," Edward sighed soothingly. "Don't worry; you're safe from everyone's abilities."

"And everyone I'm shielding is safe too?" Bella added.

"Yes," Edward assured her.

Bella nodded her head and read the book again. She quickly finished the chapter and made to move on to the next but Edward reminded her that it was lunch time. Though she didn't feel hungry, Edward seemed to be worried about her, so she rolled her eyes but allowed him to make a sandwich for her. She ate it quickly, so she could get back to the book faster.

The next chapter started with her making another trip to see Jenks; she had to go to see him to get the papers. Jenks seemed to be very jumpy about something, and she wondered why he was so afraid of Jasper, as he was the one that had dealt with him before. Seeing as he was helping her so much she wasn't opposed to the idea that she would take over for Jasper in the future when it came to dealing with Jenks. The poor man didn't need to be terrified to death every time that they need some kind of paperwork like this.

Then she was back in the house and she was all alone. She went to Alice and Jasper's room where she got a backpack that Renesmee could carry without looking suspicious, putting in tons of money and the paperwork that she had just gotten from Jenks. Her book self was then thinking of a way that Alice would be able to find Renesmee and Jacob if they were both on the run. Seeing as both her daughter and the werewolves where blank spots to Alice this was harder than it seemed, however, she thought that her book self's idea was likely to work. Alice would surely figure out why she sent her a vision that showed her writing Rio de Janeiro would mean that Alice should go there, and hopefully find her daughter. She had to admit that it was nice to know that Alice and Jasper could be there for her daughter, too, though she was hoping that it wouldn't come to this.

After this, the chapter moved on to show the last moments before the fight. How they were camping out in the clearing where they were expecting the fight, the same clearing where they had fought the newborn army in the last book. Then she was talking to Renesmee, telling her about that when the fight was going to start that Renesmee was going to have to leave with Jacob. Then they were leaving the tent to join the others as the Volturi finally came.

Her heart started to race as she read about how the Volturi marched as a unit, how organized and overbearing they seemed to be. It seemed that the Volturi weren't alone either; there was also a group of witnesses, that they seemed more like an angry mob, there only to outnumber them more than they already were. The Volturi didn't seem to care at all that there were so many people standing up to face them, they seemed to be mindless as they marched onwards.

Then Edward was saying that Alistair was right and that the Volturi were here to destroy the threat while acquiring the vampires that they deemed worthy. He said something about the Volturi having no intention of stopping and Bella felt a knot form in her stomach, but was relieved as almost immediately the Volturi had stopped... because of the werewolves making their way onto the battlefield. She had to admit that they would be an impressive sight and for the Volturi a worrisome sight to see, especially now that she heard that there were actually seventeen wolves and not just the ten that she had heard of.

"All these wolves aren't going to transform in this reality right?" Bella asked, hating to think of all the kids that must have transformed prematurely so that they could face this threat.

"I would think not," Edward said. "I'm not even sure that all of the wolves that have transformed before this fight are going to, for I don't think having us around would cause this big of an outbreak, seeing as we don't hunt humans."

"How many do you think will change then?" Bella asked.

"I have no idea," Edward sighed. "I hoped that Jacob would have been the last, but he seemed to have noticed that Paul is showing signs that he is going to change soon, too."

"I hope he's the last one to change," Bella sighed.

"Me too," Edward agreed, "and really, I would think it would be enough for them. They have enough to keep a watch on us and seeing as we won't attack anyone it shouldn't cause more to change."

Bella nodded her head and started reading again. Reading how she got furious about the thought of more children dying because of the Volturi. She could feel a little of that too, but mostly she was just apprehensive to hear what was going to happen. She was able to smile at the fact that Aro was annoyed that Alice wasn't there, pleased as her book self was about that.

She immediately felt wary again as Carlisle went out to speak to the Volturi, knowing that it was what they were hoping for, but still afraid. She wouldn't put it past the Volturi to just attack him. She was even more apprehensive when Irina was talking to Caius and Aro, for though she didn't really know this vampire, and she was the reason why the Volturi were after her family, she didn't want anything to happen to her. She also knew being on that side, far from anyone that would be willing to help her wasn't a very safe place for Irina to be. Still, that didn't stop her from being pleased that Irina had said that Renesmee had changed, that she was growing.

However, immediately she felt her anxiety peak as she realized that Edward was going to have to go to the Volturi so Aro could read his thoughts. Of course this was the whole reason for not telling Edward about her plans for Renesmee, because she was trying to keep it away from Aro, but she didn't realize how terrifying it was to read Edward going out alone to face Aro.

"Wow," Bella gasped, it thrilled her to no ends that her bloodlust seemed to peak in that moment and she was able to control her ability to such a great extent that she could shield Edward, who was a hundred yards away. That she was able to shield everyone in the party and it didn't exhaust her like it had when she was trying to do this before.

"I know, we were all surprised by this," Edward smiled proudly. "You're going to make one powerful vampire."

Bella blushed at his compliment; she'd never been considered powerful before, but she could see that he was stating nothing but fact now. She started to read again.

"Argh," Bella groaned in frustration as she realized that she had let Aro read Edward's mind and even worse reading about how now Aro would know every private moment that they shared. That really was annoying. It was satisfying though to know that Aro had no idea how strong her shield was now, for Edward couldn't read her mind. Aro would have no idea of just how vulnerable the Volturi were to them as long as she was able to keep the shield up.

"Are you okay?" Edward asked, feeling her shiver.

"Yeah... I um... I just... don't like reading about this," Bella said, which was true, but what had bothered her in that particular moment was realizing how much of a target she would be when the fight broke out. The Volturi would realize the only way to get their advantage back was to kill her.

She went back to reading and that offered her no peace of mind for now Aro was asking to meet Renesmee and telling Caius to ponder... to try to think up some other reason to punish them. Aro was still insisting they meet Renesmee and she had to meet him with Edward and three of Aro's guards. She was allowed to take two people and she smiled reluctantly at her choice and the reasons behind it. Of course Emmett would have to come, he would grumble for the rest of eternity if he wasn't picked and really having Jacob with her seemed about right.

She read quickly past the chit chat that Aro seemed to enjoy giving; feeling uncomfortable when she read that she had to lift her protection from Renesmee as she showed Aro her thoughts. Almost hissing when Aro lied about having no intention of hurting her family.

"He can't be serious," Bella rolled her eyes. "He thinks the wolves would really allow themselves to be under his control."

"He doesn't understand them at all," Edward sighed.

"Huh... I would have thought after reading all your memories that he would have realized that," Bella muttered. "Known that they exist so they could preserve human life, not act as guard dogs to a coven of vampires that they would much rather destroy."

Edward frowned, thinking about that, she had a point. "He is used to bending people to his will. I suppose he thought that he could find a way to break them."

"I don't see that one happening," Bella huffed, "and I'm pretty sure that you don't either."

"True," Edward agreed. "But Aro wouldn't really take my opinion on that into account because I wouldn't likely to be able to know how brutal he can be."

Bella shivered at that, not liking the sound of that at all. She started reading, finishing the chapter.

Perhaps she should have picked different people to go with her, she thought as she started the next chapter and reading how both Emmett and Jacob had to be dragged away from Aro, both seeming to be itching to fight.

She felt unnerved as the Volturi joined Aro and now they were so close to them that the fight could start in a split second. She also didn't like how Aro and Caius were discussing this, knowing they were trying to think of different ways to come at them.

"Wow," Bella said again, as she realized that she was able to control her ability even further. How she was able to tell the difference between each person she shielded. How she was able to make the shield seem to attach itself to their essence making sure that no one unwanted could get inside her shield and wreak damage to her friends and family. She could feel Edward's pride for her as he squeezed her to him, and she felt her hope grow as she realized that she was really able to protect her family. That for once she was truly useful. She kept reading, finding it interesting about the wolves; that as long as the Alpha's mind was protected all the wolves were protected.

Then Caius was starting to come up with reason to act against them. Starting with the werewolves, attacking the pack that the Cullens had with them. It didn't work though, because apparently the wolves weren't actually werewolves (which seemed to actually exist somewhere), but shape shifters. She was thankful then that the Volturi had brought their own witnesses, for it seemed that Aro was very fond of his show; that he was there to preserve the law. He wasn't going to allow them to fight unless there was a legitimate reason to do so. She was sure he was going to search for one so in the end it wouldn't really matter.

The next attempt Caius made had her feeling uneasy. He had called Irina to them again, and Bella feared what was going to happen. She felt Edward tense at that, a tension that had been building slowly as they got closer to this moment and she was certain she wasn't going to like what she read next.

"They killed her!" Bella groaned, feeling horrible and looking at Edward as he bowed his head. She could imagine how hard this was on the Cullens the first time they read this.

"We're going to make sure this never happens," Edward said firmly and Bella had no trouble believing him. Bella started reading again and felt tears form in her eyes as she read how Tanya and Kate reacted to this. As bad as it was for the Cullens to hear this she knew it would be a hundred times worse for the sisters to hear this. She imagined how she would feel if Alice was killed like that and she cried hard. It was such a brutal way to lose someone you love. It was made worse because they couldn't seek revenge for this tragedy... that if they had they would doom them all.

"Garrett really does care for her," Bella commented her voice thick with the tears she had shed. "If he would endure so much pain to keep her from fighting."

"Yes, they truly are mates," Edward agreed with that, for he was sure that nothing else would have given him the strength to do that.

Bella nodded her head and started to read again. "I can't believe it! That's the excuse he's using for killing her like that!"

"I know," Edward hissed. "It's beyond idiotic to punish someone to death for baring false witness to a crime like this. No one would say a word if they knew the punishment for being wrong was death!"

Bella huffed as she continued reading the book, but her anger turned to fear as she read that Aro was now making his move. She feared what he would come up with for it would be thoughtful and much more damaging to her she was sure. Still, she found herself wondering what he was doing when he was questioning the witnesses; surely he knew that they would say what Edward and Renesmee had already showed him.

Bella got really mad when it became clear what he was getting at. That he thought that Renesmee's mere existence would pose a danger to the vampires. She was gritting her teeth throughout his speech about it being a pity that they didn't know what Renesmee's potential was and that anything that is unknown was dangerous to them and couldn't be allowed. Edward tried to calm her down as she was so angry that the book started shaking from her frustration.

"I can't believe he would actually use that," Bella said. "She looks more human than any vampire could and he thinks that she would be a danger to them. Sure she grows quickly, but that doesn't mean that any human would be able to see her... it's not like we would let anyone notice how different she is."

"You know he's just trying to find a good reason to start a fight," Edward said soothingly.

"Yes," Bella huffed, "I just really didn't like that he was putting a death sentence on our daughter like this just so he could have a reason to fight."

"Me neither," Edward sighed, but he knew that this was for the best in the end. It played right into Alice's hands after all.

Bella continued to read, appreciating Garrett's attempts to try and convince the other nomads and the Volturi witnesses, of the real motives of the Volturi. She hoped that they would have enough sense to help them out, for surely Aro would not allow them to get away knowing that he wasn't the saint that he wanted others to believe he was.

After that Aro turned to make his decision and she turned to Renesmee, telling her daughter that she loved her… telling Edward and Jacob of her plan, saying goodbye to her family and friends. All this had her tearing up. She couldn't imagine the pain her book self would be in at this moment, knowing that she would never get to see her daughter grow up, never get to have Edward for eternity. The others seemed to pick up on what she was thinking and they too seemed to say goodbye to each other.

As this was going on, someone seemed to be sending an advance attack on them, trying to break their bonds. She finished the chapter and moved to the next without pause, knowing that her power was now going to be tested.

She read as her book self described the way the different powers affected her shield. How Chelsea's power felt like light fluttering that tried to attack the edges of the group (mostly those that hadn't committed to fight with them). Jane's power was a sharper jab, not painful but not pleasant either.

She found herself chuckling darkly at the thought of infuriating Jane so much... smirking and taunting the little vampire that was unable to hurt her or her family anymore. Then Alec seemed to be testing his ability against her. It was slow moving and all encompassing, but so was her own power and she smiled when she had been able to stop even this (noting that his power reminded her of Novocain).

"I would liked to have seen how shocked they were at that moment," Edward said, amusement clear in his voice. "When they realized that couldn't use any of their abilities against any of us."

"Well, let's just hope you never get to see that," Bella mumbled, though she still felt smug about this outcome; she was hoping this was enough to make Aro reconsider his attack.

She read, hoping she would be right, but it seemed like first everyone in her family had to pick a target to take out. She felt a little uneasy about Edward fighting Demetri, but it was true that he needed to be killed in order to give Renesmee and every other survivor some safety. She was pleased that Zafrina would be watching her back. The Amazon was definitely a formidable vampire.

Naturally the vote would come down to Aro in the end. He seemed to be the true power of the Volturi after all. She wondered vaguely if Caius and Marcus always voted against each other so Aro could give the appearance of a partnership but really it was a dictatorship. This didn't matter, for Aro was about to make his verdict...

No, Edward was smiling, something had changed. Edward suddenly seemed to know something that none of them knew before. Bella felt her heart start to race, not in panic as it was before, but in hope. She had an idea what was going to happen. Edward was talking about assuring Renesmee was no danger and there was only one reason she could think of that Edward would have said this.

"There's another hybrid, isn't there?" Bella turned to him.

"Why do you insist on ruining the story this close to hearing the answer?" Edward shook his head.

"Whatever," Bella rolled her eyes. "That's how you knew that Renesmee was going to stop growing when she was seven."

Edward nodded his head. "How else did you expect me to know that?"

"I don't know... the book could have ended with a vision of a hundred years in the future and have Renesmee be a grown woman or something," Bella said blushing that she hadn't realized this before.

Edward chuckled at that, "I might have liked seeing that, but I think this way told us more details."

Bella nodded her head, still feeling embarrassed about not thinking about this sooner and started to read. "Alice! Of course! She went to find the hybrid!"

"You don't know how happy everyone was to hear this!" Edward smiled.

"Oh I think I do," Bella disagreed. "It was so hard to believe that Alice would ever leave your family like that. Actually I couldn't believe it... I knew she had to be doing something, but I never would have guessed it would have been this."

Bella read again excitedly listening to the story that Huilen, the sister of the girl that gave birth to Nahuel, the other hybrid, told them all. The story sounded similar to her own, though her angel happened to be real as opposed to the Nahuel's mother's, who had knocked her up and then left her to die. He didn't seem to care at all about the woman, or even really the child, seeing as he had left the boy for years. However, Nahuel seemed to be venomous and was able to turn Huilen into a vampire and it was nice to know that the boy had someone to be with.

When Nahuel picked up the story and spoke of his father she found herself getting angrier at this Joham that was creating hybrids, thinking himself a scientist. Still it was nice to know that besides Nahuel there were three other hybrid vampires that her daughter could relate to. She waited until it was clear that the Volturi were actually going to leave, that Aro had voted to let it stand that the hybrids weren't a danger to their society before she turned to Edward smiling.

"It's over, everyone is okay," she beamed and he beamed back. "Sometime after Renesmee is born, probably a few years, we should try and find Nahuel and Huilen. I think it would be good for her to know someone like her."

"I agree," Edward smiled. "What about Nahuel sisters?"

"I don't know, I'm not really looking forward to meeting that Joham guy," she said in distress. "I suppose it would be good to meet them too."

Bella started reading again and groaned. "I called her Nessie!"

"Told you it will grow on you," Edward chuckled.

"Well it hasn't yet," Bella huffed, turning the page and smiling immediately at the title. _Happily Ever After._

It started with Edward recapping the fight like only he could, seeing as he was the only one that knew what everyone was thinking. She was a little sad to hear that all the other vampires had left. She had enjoyed hearing about them and knew that she would find everything more interesting now that she knew her family wasn't in danger. However, they were leaving and she had to smile when the Cullens were virtually left to themselves and everyone was back to being happy.

She blushed as Edward praised her book self for being the reason why the Volturi had stopped. She felt a little embarrassed about getting mad at Alice, knowing that her sister was just trying to do what was best. Yeah, it had her worried for a long time but at least it helped save her family. Then Alice was explaining herself and she felt even worse.

"Hm… do you really think Nahuel is going to like Renesmee... you know like that?" Bella asked frowning.

"Who knows," Edward shrugged. "I certainly hope not. I'm not looking forward to anyone liking her... it's bad enough that Jacob is going to imprint on her... I don't really think I can want another suitor buzzing around her."

"But you said you wanted her to meet Nahuel?" Bella said slightly confused.

"Of course," Edward said, "it doesn't matter if he would potentially be a suitor for our daughter; it would be beneficial for both of them to know that the other exists. You saw how Renesmee realized that she didn't belong anywhere... she knew that there are some people that are like her and that has to make her feel like she does fit in."

"Right," Bella smiled sadly at that and read on and felt horrible when Edward explained that Nahuel had thought that he was bad because he was the reason his mother died. There was no doubt that they had to see the boy now, seeing as by meeting her, the boy (who was more than a hundred years older than her) was able to start forgiving himself.

Then they were going back to the cottage and she had forever with Edward and she couldn't help but smile at the thought. She smiled broadly as she read that she was lowering her shield and seeing how he reacted to that. She really couldn't wait until she learned that one... she couldn't wait to see his face when that happened... she couldn't wait until she had her eternity with Edward.

 **A/N: There it is, I'm finally done with the book and now I can start on my own work again. I had thought I would have had more of a decision at the end here, but like at the end of the second chapter as soon as I wrote this last line it seemed to say to me that this was the end of the chapter. So the next chapter will have Bella and Edward discussing what they're going to be doing next now that they both know what's happening.**


	24. After the Books

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Four

After the Books

"Wow," Bella said, putting the book on the table. They were now on even footing... Edward no longer knew more than she did about their future.

"I know," Edward said.

"So much happened in those books," Bella said and Edward nodded his head. "It's a lot to process."

"Well, then you'll be happy to take the ten minute trip to our house," a voice said from behind them and Bella turned to see that Alice was now standing in the living room. "You don't know how long I've been waiting for you to get finished."

"Alice, I don't think..." Edward started to say.

"I'm not going to listen to anything you have to say," Alice huffed. "You've been hoarding Bella all to yourself for the last four days. It's time to share her."

"Alice," Edward grumbled, he always hated when she talked about Bella like this.

"I don't know if I really want to talk about all of this in front of everyone," Bella mumbled.

"And I understand that, but this is something that will affect our entire family," Alice pouted. "Don't you think you should at least let us be there?"

"Don't listen to her, she's just been really upset that you decided to put off reading the books for so long because she couldn't see what was going to happen," Edward interrupted his sister, who was now making a face at him.

"Well, it is frustrating not knowing what you're going to decide," Alice said, turning back to Bella and now pouting again. "But I suppose if you don't want to talk with us..."

Bella knew what Alice was doing, but it didn't stop the manipulating factor of the little vampire one bit. "Fine, we'll come over to your house, but I have to make dinner for Charlie first..."

"I've already taken care of that, I called Charlie and asked if you could stay over tonight," Alice beamed and Bella looked at her incredulously and Edward rolled his eyes. "I've already packed for you too..." she added holding up a bag that had all the things that Bella would think about bringing with her.

"Alice," Bella groaned.

"Come on... we can go in my car," Alice said talking Bella's hand and about ten minutes later Bella was at the Cullens' house, being greeted warmly by everyone. Bella was happy when Alice didn't immediately start questioning her about her plans for the future, but was allowed to eat the food that Esme made for her. She had to admit, that even though it had only been four days since she'd been there, she had missed seeing them. Everything felt a little different though, somehow after reading the book; she felt even more a part of the family than she had before. She watched as everyone seemed to be going about their normal daily life, actually normal (for them) and she smiled how natural it felt to be here. After she finished eating, Alice called a family meeting and Bella started to feel anxious again. She didn't really know what was going to happen here.

"So, as everyone knows, Bella has _finally_ read the books," Alice said once everyone took their seats. "So now we're going to have to discuss what is going to happen now."

"Well, obviously there are plenty of things in this book that both could never happen and that we would like to prevent from happening," Edward said, holding on to Bella's hand, hoping that she would relax soon and participate in this conversation. He really was dying to know what she was thinking.

"Yeah, we took care of most of the things that are threatening to Bella already," Emmett said, looking almost regretful of this fact.

"There will be no newborn army or any other attack from Victoria," Jasper agreed. "And if Edward never leaves..."

"Which I assure you will never happen," Edward said, looking Bella in the eyes.

"I know, Edward," Bella smiled at him.

"Or goes to Italy," Jasper went on like he was never interrupted, the mention of Italy had made everyone in the room look tense, but again Jasper ignored it (though obviously he could feel what his words did to everyone). "Then the Volturi will have no reason to come here."

"We'll have to make sure that doesn't happen," Esme said.

"As long as we live the way that we do, there shouldn't be any reason for them to come here," Carlisle assured her.

"So the major issues we have to still deal with is about you, little sister," Emmett smiled.

"Most noticeably the _wolves_ ," Rosalie said, she voice filled with disdain.

"Especially Jacob," Edward said, looking at Bella. "Do you know what you're going to do about him yet?"

"No," Bella said. "I think I'm going to have to talk to him... I don't even know if he is a wolf yet..."

"He is," Alice informed her with a grimace. "He has been getting foggier and foggier for me to see the last few weeks, but he completely disappeared soon after you had decided to read the books. I wondered what the connection to that was."

"I might have reacted a little rashly to a thought Jacob had," Edward said. "He nearly transformed right in front of us... but he was just able to keep himself together."

"I probably should have called him before now..." Bella sighed, thinking about how her friend might be hurting now.

"He's probably still dealing with the transformation now," Carlisle said reasonably, "he needs his brother wolves more than anything else at the moment."

"So when you said you reacted rashly... what does that mean, Eddie?" Emmett asked, with a chuckle. "What did the pup say or do that made you react rashly?"

"He thought Bella was beautiful," Edward mumbled.

"So you think he likes little Bella," Emmett said trying to disguise his amusement in this.

"We so don't need to go through any of that drama again," Rosalie groaned. "It probably would be best if you just let him go as a friend."

"Sorry, Rose, but you're not exactly the person that I would go to when I'm talking about my friendship with Jake. But you're right, I can't let any of that drama happen this time," Bella said and Rosalie nodded at that.

"So, what are you going to do?" Jasper asked.

"I think it's best that Jacob knows what happened between us in these books," Bella said. "I was thinking the best way to do that is if I gave him _New Moon_ and _Eclipse_."

"Really... you're willing to let more people read your thoughts?" Edward asked, amused but a little sad too.

"It's the best way for him to understand," Bella sighed, making a face as if to say that she really didn't like the idea of anyone reading the books about her.

"And what about Breaking Dawn?" Esme questioned. "Don't you think it would be best if he knows that in the end everything works out... that the pain that he would have suffered was worth it?"

"Hopefully if he reads the other books then nothing will have a chance to develop between me and him other than the friendship we already have," Bella said.

"And you don't want the mutt knowing that he's going to imprint on your daughter," Rosalie said, her voice was bitter until she said _'your daughter'_ which came out as very sweet and contrasted very much with the tone of the rest of the sentence.

"I'm not sure what I want to do about that," Bella admitted bowing her head. "Sometime I'm feeling just as mad as I did the first time I read it, and I don't want anything to do with that whole mess. And other times... it seems like Renesmee really likes having him around and it seems wrong to deny that bond... I don't really understand it, but at the same time I know it's powerful..."

"Argh!" Rosalie groaned at that. "Keep the mutt away as long as possible I say!"

"Come on, he wasn't so bad," Emmett chuckled and Rosalie glared at him.

She, however, turned back to Bella with a smile that made her normally cold features warm up. "Still, this means that you are planning on having Renesmee!"

Bella smiled at that, though she could feel her checks warm a little as all the vampires looked at her hopefully. "Of course I'm going to have Renesmee."

"Or at least we're going to try to have her," Edward said, feeling overly proud at the moment.

"Strictly speaking of genetics, something might happen and a different outcome may come about," Carlisle felt the need to supply.

"I really hope that doesn't happen," Bella frowned, and everyone nodded their head in agreement, they would all regret not being able to really get to know the little girl they had read about in the last book... Naturally that didn't mean that they wouldn't love any child that was born to Edward and Bella, it would just be sad.

"Which means that you're going to have to try and keep you're... er... physically relationship," Carlisle said, and Bella blushed worse than ever as Emmett laughed, "as close to the book as possible."

"Which means no F..."

"Emmett!" Esme reprimanded him before he could even finish his sentence, but that didn't stop him from smirking at Edward.

"That's okay," Edward said casually, "I still have old fashioned values."

Emmett frowned at that response, but quickly turned to Bella, the grin back in place, and said, "Which means you're going to have to marry him as long as he thinks that way."

Bella rolled her eyes, "I can live with that."

"Aw... that's not fair, you two aren't nearly as fun as you were in the book," Emmett pouted. However, Esme was beaming at Bella's comment and there was a look in Alice's eyes that told Bella that she was already planning for this wedding, and trying to make it even better than the one in the book.

 _Hm...I've never had such a challenge before, I have to outdo myself!_ Alice thought excitedly at that and Edward rolled his eyes.

"There are a few things that have to happen before that day... for instance I still have to ask Bella to marry me, which I'm not allowed to do until after New Years," Edward said to Esme and Alice, but neither one of them paid too much attention to that, they knew it was going to happen.

"I think that's the main issues that we needed to talk about," Alice smiled.

"Um... we didn't really talk about anything... or at least I didn't decide anything," Bella mumbled, still thinking about the Jacob issue and what was going to happen with that.

"Really, I have all the answers I wanted," Alice said, and Edward rolled his eyes again.

"I think what has been said is all that we, as a family, need to discuss," Carlisle said peacefully.

It seemed that was the end of the family meeting and Alice had dragged Bella away. Before she knew what happened, Alice had made plans for them to go shopping tomorrow, her pleas that she had to see Jacob were over written by the sound reason that he didn't need to deal with this while he was still getting used to the transformation. Bella knew that Alice was right, but right now she really wished she could talk to Jacob, because as the way things stood right now, that was the only uneasy part of her life.

Bella wasn't sure if she was still going to be able to be friends with Jacob. She wasn't sure if Jacob was really starting to think of her in that way or if Edward had just picked up some stray and innocent thought. She knew she wasn't going to let what happened in the book happen in real life, so talking with Jacob was the only way to find that out. The worst part was she knew she wouldn't really have an answer to that until after Jacob read the books she was going to give him, because before then he wouldn't really know what the problem was, so she was going to have to wait even longer.

Still, she put that out of her mind as she climbed into Edward's bed, the bed that had always been there since she had first come to Edward's house. She now realized it looked like the one described in _Eclipse_. She smiled at this as she rested her head against Edward's chest.

"So how do you feel now?" Edward questioned softly.

"I'm happy," Bella said. "Especially now that we're on even footing. I suppose we're just going to have to wait and see what is going to come into our lives now... hoping the good things won't change, but we're able to prevent the painful things."

"To me, it seems that like everything is really starting now," Edward said. "The future the book promised for us is that much closer to being real now."

"Sorry, I made you wait so long," Bella frowned as she looked at him. "I didn't know..."

"Bella, you silly girl, you have nothing to apologize for," Edward smiled at her, "don't think that I regret living in the present with you one bit. I love getting to know you... I'm glad that we grew closer together without you feeling any pressure about the looming future. In fact, a part of me might have liked to have not known what was in these books until right now either. That way we could have been warned and surprised about everything that will happen together.

"Still, I know it was better this way," he added thoughtfully, "for I believe that I was able to meet you without having any regret. I knew that I wasn't taking you away from your life, but giving you the one that you were always meant to have."

"I'm glad you read these books too, if that was what it did for you," Bella smiled and Edward looked down at her with a breathtaking smile. Bella ducked her head down and rested it on his chest again.

"Is something wrong?" Edward asked, his voice full of concern before he could feel the heat that was coming off her cheek and he started to chuckle. "What is it, Bella?"

Bella was silent for awhile, but she could feel in the way that Edward played with her hair that he was dying to know what she was thinking about. She sighed, knowing how much it pained him not knowing what she was thinking, especially when she blushed like this. In barely a whisper she said, "It's just... when you look at me like that, it makes me want to skip ahead... it makes me want to have my happily ever after right now."

"Oh," Edward said, feeling smug and yet wary at once. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be, you can't help it," Bella smiled against his chest.

"What do you mean by that exactly?" Edward questioned.

"Everything is right," Bella sighed. "The way it sounds like when I was a vampire... the way it seemed to be natural to me... the way our relationship evolved as soon as I was like you... I want all of that."

"Anything else?" Edward chuckled.

"Of course, I want to get to know our daughter," Bella said. "I was terrified of the prospect of having a child at my age, but that doesn't stop me wanting her to exist now..."

"There's nothing I can do about that," Edward said, "only time will let us have that..."

"I know," Bella sighed, "but that doesn't stop me from wanting it all now... or..." she added, sitting up, her cheeks were now bright red, "for wanting you right now."

"Bella," Edward said softly, "that's not..."

"Because you want to protect my virtue..." Bella guessed.

"That's part of the reason," Edward smiled, "and the other part, of course, is that right now I don't think I am physically able to handle that. No… listen to me..." he added, for Bella looked like she was about to protest, "every day it is easy for me to be around you. Every day the power your scent has on my worst side loosens a little. And as long as that is true, I know I'm not ready to be that way with you..."

"And what if the day of our honeymoon comes and you still feel this way?" Bella questioned.

"We'll have to deal with that when the time comes, but honestly I don't think you have to worry," Edward said. "The change from day to day, the hunger is fading quickly... I would think in about another few months I will feel more comfortable about this."

"Okay," Bella said. "So that means in a few months... um... we might be able to try... um... I mean you could just... er... use a condom..." her voice because softer and softer as she spoke until it was once again barely a whisper.

Edward let out a sigh at this, and said in a grave voice, "I asked Carlisle about this" Bella's face became a deeper shade of red at that... "And he said that he wasn't sure if that would do anything for me... he thinks that because I'm a vampire that it would... well, that it would be useless if I tried to use one."

"Oh," Bella sighed a little disappointed.

"I know," Edward agreed. "I was hoping for a different answer myself."

"He wasn't sure... or their might be something else that might work," Bella muttered, knowing it was useless.

"I don't want to risk never meeting Renesmee because I couldn't want another few months," Edward said frowning.

"You're right," Bella sighed once more and rested her head on his chest again. "But that just brings me back to my original point."

"That you can't wait until you transform," Edward supplied.

"Exactly," Bella agreed, "but I suppose being in the present with you won't be too horrible," she added as an afterthought and it made her smile. Yes, she wanted her life to really get started, but that didn't mean there weren't things that she could enjoy doing in the meantime.

"That's good to know," Edward chuckled and soon after that Bella went to sleep.

 **A/N: So I know this chapter is short, but seeing as I'm going to have another chapter on Friday, it should be okay. Anyway, I hoped you liked what happened in this chapter and the next one will deal with the Jacob issue. Oh, and I know I've been posting twice a week for a while now, but this is the last time, I'll be posting something on Friday and the next update will be the Friday after that.**


	25. Preventing Fires

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Five

Preventing Fires

The next couple of weeks before school started seemed to go by in a hurry. Bella was able to see Jacob only once in that time period and though the two of them talked by themselves, they weren't allowed to be really alone. Sam and Jared weren't too far off in the woods and Edward was in the house, both parties could hear everything that she said to Jacob. She felt uncomfortable with this arrangement, much preferring that everyone just meet together, but Jacob was worried about how his instincts would react to having Edward so near him and Edward agreed it wouldn't be wise. Of course Edward suggested that they just talk over the phone, but Bella thought a face to face meeting would be better at this time.

"So... um... how are you?" Bella asked uncertainly, feeling more awkward with her friend than she had in the past. It wasn't just the fact that they might not be able to be friends in the future, it was that Jacob looked so different now, with his short hair and looking older than he did before the transformation.

"I'm dealing," Jacob sighed, but then smiled at her. "It's different than I thought it would be... I guess becoming a wolf is something that you just can't prepare for. I'm sorry for what happened the other day..." he added as an afterthought. "And for not calling you lately... it's just been... hard..."

"You really don't have to apologize about either of those things," Bella sighed.

"Good," Jacob grinned, but it faded quickly when he noticed how guarded Bella seemed to be. Not sure what to do he asked, "so what have you been doing the last week or so?"

"Well... um... I sort of read the other books, you know the ones from the future," Bella said.

"Oh," Jacob said a little surprised and then he looked at her closer. He sighed, "What happened?"

Bella bit her lip, "a lot of things..."

"Well, I'd like to hear more than just that," Jacob prompted after waiting for her to say something for several moments.

"There's too much to really describe," Bella shook her head. "I think it's best if you just read them... um... at least some of them."

"Really," Jacob said once again surprised, knowing that she wouldn't really want him reading that unless it was important... unless something happened in the book. "What did I do?"

"What makes you think you did anything?" Bella questioned as his expression had become glum.

"Because you haven't looked me in the eye while I've been here," Jacob sighed. "I would worry that it had something to do with me being a wolf, but you had no trouble meeting Sam and Jared. So, now that just leaves me thinking that something must have happened in the book... um... books. So I repeat, what did I do?"

"You like me," Bella mumbled, the answer.

"Well, of course I like you," Jacob answered before he got the full meaning of what she was saying. "Oh... um... I... I don't know what to say about that."

"Me neither," Bella said, "but I know I'm not going to let what happened in the book happen in this reality."

"I don't think you have to worry about that," Jacob said.

"So you're saying you don't have any feelings for me like that?" Bella questioned hopefully.

"Not that I know of," Jacob said, but he wasn't looking at her directly in the eye which made her suspicious.

"Just read the books, Jake," Bella said handing him two of the books. "See what you think after that."

"Bella..." Jacob said.

"And it's probably best if we don't see each other for awhile," Bella added.

"Come on... I don't see..."

"Relax, Jake, I just mean it's probably best for you to... I mean it can't be easy on you learning to be a wolf and all," Bella said in a kinder tone.

"No, it's really isn't," Jacob said.

"So just take your time," Bella said, "and call me once you've finished with the books."

"Fine," Jacob sighed.

That conversation happened weeks ago and she still hadn't heard word from Jacob since. She wondered what that meant, but she couldn't dwell on that fact long, for she had a lot of other things on her mind. For the rest of the summer break she spent most of her time at the Cullens' and each day it felt more and more like home to her.

When school started, she wasn't surprised to see that she had all her classes with Edward, even Gym, which she could have done without (being distracted by Edward's flawless grace didn't help her coordination one bit). However, even that wasn't so bad, because it just felt right having him there. At lunch time she would sit at a table with a big group of people, which most importantly included Angela, who was still happily going out with Ben. Bella was happy to see that nothing much had changed there. She was, however, surprised to see that Mike and Jessica still seemed to be together too and wondered what might have changed that would make that happen.

When she questioned Edward about it his only answer was, "Mike Newton isn't anywhere near as vile as he was last year... at least now his thoughts aren't directed towards you."

"Do you think those two might actually stay together this time?" Bella continued to question.

"Who knows," Edward said, but his tone was doubtfully.

"And why don't you think they'll last?" Bella asked in response to his tone.

"They're both very self-absorbed," Edward answered, seeing to take a fraction of a second longer than necessary to find the best way to describe them. "Right now, they care more about looking good and other things along that line for this to be too serious... they might later on..." again he sounded doubtful.

"Then why are they still together this time?" Bella frowned.

"I would imagine that has mostly to do with you," Edward said, now smiling. "You didn't really give Newton a chance to think there was any possibility that you would like him. Without that, it was much easier for him to move on with his life."

"Hm..." Bella said thoughtfully, but she wasn't exactly thinking about Mike.

"I must say I'm very happy about that, from what I've seen in the books at least I don't have to live through most of the fantasies he had about you," Edward said cheerfully.

Her birthday too came and went without anything happening. That didn't mean that she wasn't worried her entire birthday, feeling more anxious than she knew she should be, but of course she wasn't the only one that was anxious. Edward seemed on edge, and he agreed completely when Bella had refused to go to the Cullens' house, but surprisingly Alice didn't put up much of a fight.

Of course that turned out to be because she had arranged a surprised party at Charlie's house, which had Bella gritting her teeth and grimacing for some time.

"How could you allow this to happen?" she hissed in a whisper that only the vampires, and there were quite a few of them in the house, could hear.

"You know Alice doesn't fight fair," Edward sighed. "I didn't have much of a choice, Bella."

"The least you could have done was tell me then," Bella grumbled.

"Then it wouldn't have been a surprise," Alice chimed in. "Come on, Bella, you know you can have fun here as long as you let yourself."

"Whatever," Bella rolled her eyes, but of course Alice had ended up being right, it wasn't so bad. She had to smile at the fact that Charlie hid out in the kitchen with Carlisle and Esme, seeming to get along with them pretty well. She also liked that Angela was there, seeming to be comfortable talking to Alice and even Jasper, who Alice had forced to come, but judging by the color of his eyes he had hunted just hours before this. Ben too, seemed to have relaxed by the time he had finished talking to Emmett about all the martial arts movies they both enjoyed watching. No, in the end, it was a rather nice birthday.

It wasn't until mid-October, almost two months after he had gotten the books that Bella heard from Jacob again. Edward had left earlier that day to go hunting with his siblings and she was cleaning her house when the phone rang.

"Hello," Bella said.

"Bella- hey," his voice was easily recognizable, but it sounded apprehensive at the moment.

"Sorry, but I don't know who's speaking," Bella said a little coldly.

"I'm sorry, I know I should have called before now..."

"I still don't know who I'm speaking to," Bella stated and heard a loud sigh.

"It's Jacob. And I'm sorry that I didn't call you before now," he repeated.

It was Bella's turn to sigh, before she said, "What do you want?"

"Well... to talk," Jacob said, apprehensive again.

"Why are you calling now... it's been two months, Jake?" Bella questioned.

"Well... um... the truth is I just finished the books now," he admitted.

"It took you two months to read them!" Bella said, astounded by that fact.

"It's not my fault, at first every time I would get angry I would start shuddering and turn into a wolf!" Jacob explained.

"I'm sorry, Jake," Bella said, "I didn't realize..."

"No... it's okay," Jacob said. "It probably worked out better that way."

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Look, Bella, it would be easier if we were talking face to face," Jacob said.

"You're right," Bella answered. "I can meet you at your house."

"Are you sure Edward will be okay with that?" Jacob asked.

Bella took a moment to answer that because she was trying to interpret the tone he was using. Finding it to be his normal voice she answered, "I don't know, he's not here right now."

"Oh," was all Jacob had to say to that.

"I'll call him, but I'm sure it will be fine," Bella said. "Well... um... that is as long as you have control over yourself."

Jacob chuckled. "I'm good."

"Good, I'll see you soon," Bella said and hung up the phone only to pick it up again and call Edward's cell phone. It seemed like he was on his way back from the hunting trip, and he had a feeling that something like this was going on because Bella had disappeared from Alice's vision. He said it was okay that she go, though he sounded a little nervous. Starting to feel uncomfortable about this, she tried to tell Edward that she didn't really need to talk to him, but Edward insisted that this conversation had been looming over them for long enough and that she needed to talk to Jacob.

So fifteen minutes later she was at Jacob's house and the two of them were staring at each other.

"So... um... what do you have to say?" Bella asked uncomfortably.

"That you have a very interesting way of thinking of things," Jacob said and smirked when she made a face at him before she started grimacing again.

"This isn't funny, Jake," Bella said.

"I know," Jacob agreed. "Just thought I would try to break the tension."

"And now that you have...?" Bella said.

"You didn't say that you liked me back," Jacob said, diving into the conversation.

"So you do like me now," Bella moaned.

"That's not what I said," Jacob rolled his eyes. "I was just expecting to watch myself make a fool of myself... which, let's face it, I did... but I didn't know you would like me back... I thought Edward was the only one that you would ever like."

"He is," Bella said looking gloomier the longer Jacob talked.

"That's not what your book self said," Jacob argued.

"But it's what I'm saying," Bella said. "I'm not going to let anyone suffer for my hesitation."

"That's good... I'd hate to suffer," Jacob smiled at her, but she continued to frown. He sighed and was thoughtful for a long time before he said, "I don't like you like that... that's not to say that I can't see why I would... you're kind of perfect for me..."

"Jake..." Bella moaned again, was it too late, had she already hurt him?

"And I can't lie... I know there is something different about you than all of the other girls I know," Jacob went on like he didn't hear her. "And that... whatever it is about... seemed to just keep growing stronger the longer I've known you but I'm not the guy in the book, just like you're not that girl."

"It doesn't really sound that way," Bella said looking down.

"You know the one thing that makes me almost want to try and fight for you?" Jacob questioned, and Bella flinched at those words. "Is that you want to become one of them."

Bella flinched again. She could tell by the way he was looking at her that he understood that this was the way she felt in this reality, too.

"A part of me feels like it would be a crime to allow that to happen," Jacob admitted, his tone suddenly filled with anger. "That you're going to just give up everything you are to be like them...

"But there is another part of me that knows that they... the Cullens... aren't monsters... that you wouldn't be some kind of soulless monster when you change," he added, in a milder tone. "Right... tell me you're not a monster..."

"No... I'm not a monster," Bella said. "I'm actually freakishly tame for a newborn."

"That's a relief," Jacob said, truly looking relieved. "Still, I can't say that I like this, but it's your decision."

"Hm... that's more opened minded than I thought you would be," Bella smiled at him, she hadn't thought about this issue before she gave the books to him. Suddenly she was wary of what he might have been thinking about while being a wolf. "But what does the council think of that?"

"They don't know yet, and I'm not planning on telling them," Jacob said.

"Surely Sam or Jared must..."

"And Paul," Jacob added grimacing.

"He turned too," Bella sighed and Jacob nodded his head. She took a deep breath before she continued where she left off. "They must have heard your thoughts about the book... you couldn't have keep this all a secret."

"No, not all of it," Jacob said. "And definitely not the parts were we worked with the Cullens to protect you and the town. I think everyone has a higher opinion of your vamps now, though Sam is still wary of them. It didn't help that the first time I transformed was when Jasper nearly killed you in the first chapter... that had everyone on edge for a while, but it went away when they saw how Edward responded to the threat..."

"I bet they were happy when he left," Bella grumbled.

"At first, but no one was happy about how depressed you got," Jacob said. "Sam seemed to understand you a lot there, he could sort of relate to how you felt without your other half... thinking about what it would be like to be separated from Emily like that."

"It sounds like they know the whole story now," Bella frowned, though if it would help the relationship between the wolves and Cullens she supposed it would be worth it.

"Well, like I said I didn't have very much control at the beginning," Jacob shrugged. "So whenever I was mad I would transform and my thoughts would be filled with whatever I just read. After awhile I decided it would probably be best for mine and my packs' sanity if I just didn't read the book for awhile until I could control my temper better. It worked out pretty good. I basically only told the other guys what they needed to know."

"So you didn't tell them about my desire to be a vampire," Bella said.

"No, I wanted to hold off on telling them that until I knew how I felt about it," Jacob said.

"And what are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to wait a little while longer before letting them know that," Jacob shrugged, "I don't want to cause any problems... but eventually they're going to have to know..."

"I understand," Bella sighed, finding this conversation was working out better than she hoped. However, she thought about what he had said about her earlier and she got uncomfortable again.

"Jake... about what you said earlier... about how you're feeling about me," Bella said softly.

"Darn... I didn't distract you well enough," Jacob frowned and she rolled her eyes at him.

"I know you meant for it to sound like you didn't like me, but I couldn't help but think about how hanging around you is only going to make that feeling grow..." Bella said.

"Maybe," Jacob frowned, he couldn't really argue with that.

"Then it would be best if we didn't see each other anymore," Bella said gravely, she really had missed her friend these last two months.

"I don't get it, so what if I have strong feelings for you, why can't we see each other?" Jacob said pleadingly. "It's not like I'm in love with you or anything... I just... you're... we... I just like hanging out with you... I've missed you, and I don't want to be cut out of your life."

Bella frowned at that, and she could feel it too, she didn't want that either, but she also knew that it would only cause everyone pain if she tried to stay friends with him.

Jacob could read her decision in her eyes, so continued to plead his cause. "I wish that Edward were here... he would tell you that I'm not playing a game here... I'm not lying... I just don't want to lose my best friend!"

"Jake," Bella groaned and he gave her the best puppy dog eyes he could manage. "Fine, we can go on a trial basis. But I'll only see you when Edward is around... do you think you can handle that?"

"Hm... it might be difficult at first," Jacob admitted, but he was grinning at her decision. "But I'll get used to it."

"And if you ever get even close to liking me..." Bella started to say.

"I get it," Jacob nodded his head.

"Okay then," Bella smiled, "I probably should be going home, Edward said that he would be there and I really want to see him."

"Okay," Jacob sighed, wishing she would stay longer but he wasn't about to say that right now.

"It was really good to see you," Bella said and she hugged him quickly.

"Sure, sure," Jacob smiled this time.

As she drove away she realized that she probably should have been firmer with Jacob, but it was hard for her when she was face to face with him like that. She also realized that the easiest way to make Jacob understand what he was feeling about her was to tell him about the imprinting. That he was likely being drawn to her because she was the closest person alive to be suited to him. She frowned at this, she still was reluctant to tell him about this and she needed more time to think it through.

When Bella got home, she told Edward about everything that went on during her meeting with Jacob and he seemed to react similarly to the way she felt. Pleased that in some ways he took it so well, but also wary that he might be some kind of time bomb that might cause them some problems. However, both their fears were alleviated somewhat when he came over to Bella's house the next Sunday, and other than wrinkling his nose, was perfectly pleasant. Edward confirmed that he wasn't lying about his motives for coming by, but everyone could tell that there was a new kind of tension that wasn't there before Jacob had transformed.

Bella would only see Jacob about once a week as the months went by, but everyone seemed to slowly becoming friends... even Edward and Jacob seemed to be getting along together. So much so that she even was able to go to Jacob's birthday party in La Push where she got to see all the other wolves, along with Quil, Embry, Seth and Leah, who had yet to transform and hopefully never would. As she drove home from the party, she had to admit that she had fun there, and she was glad that she was still able to have a friendship with Jacob.

O

"NO!"

There was a cry that was filled with such pain and sorrow that it drew everyone's attention at once. However, they could hear the sound of the front door being ripped off its hinges before they could do anything more than stand up.

"What's happening?" Emmett asked his tone filled with nothing but worry for once.

"No!" this cry was no more than a whisper, but it had Jasper running to Alice, whose face was contorted in anguish.

"What did you see?" he asked in his calming voice, trying to feed her some tranquility, but it was difficult because everyone was so worried.

"It's Bella!" was all she said before she too was running.

 **A/N: I know I'm evil for leaving it there, but it's about time I put some action/angst into this story.**


	26. Accidents will Happen

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Sorry about the horrible cliff hanger, but my evil twin had takeover for a week and decided to be really cruel. Ma, Ha ha ha... I won't say there won't be cliff hangers in the future, but I will promise none of them will be as bad as that one if there are.**

 **Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Six

Accidents _will_ Happen

A primal groan came from his throat as he saw it... one second he was organizing his music collection, and the next his entire mind was filled with his angel being covered in blood and glass.

"NO!" he screamed and a great pain seemed to want to push him to the floor, crushing him with the force of the earth itself but he wouldn't let it. He started running, not sure where he was going at first, but as he ripped the door off its hinges, forgetting in his haste to use the proper amount of strength, the vision painted back and he was able to see the road that lead out of Forks and into La Push. He picked up speed; he was running faster than he ever had in his life. However, no matter how fast he ran, he couldn't get the image of the meaning of his existence cut and bruised out of his head. As he went over the vision again he realized that she hadn't made it across the boundary line and he was going to have to go into the wolves' territory to help her.

He did not slow down... he did not hesitate a second, he just keep running.

As Edward reached the road that she was on, he could see the truck mangled beyond repair. He could see that a black van that had crashed into it. A trace of thought nudged at him as he realized that Tyler's van had found its way to Bella's truck and this time he wasn't there to save her. A wave of guilt once again threatened to crush him but he pushed that to a different part of his mind; he would have to deal with that later.

Once he was at the site, he pushed the van away from the truck and looked down at Bella. Her eyes were closed, there was blood all over the place, sickening sweet and at any other time would have been more tempting than anything he experienced but he couldn't even feel the burn in his throat. He was in such a panic... he couldn't hear her heart beating.

"No, Bella, no," he cried as he tore off the truck door and felt for her pulse. Relief filled his entire being as he found it, realizing slowly that he had been listening for her regular heartbeat and not this faded and weak sound. The relief was gone now, dread took its place. He could not tell how extensive her internal injuries were, though he was thankful that the cuts were only superficial. He reached down and carefully picked her up, making sure that he didn't jostle her at all, again wary of internal injuries.

As he turned to leave he heard Tyler cough. His eyes turned on the boy and he felt an intense desire to rip his throat out because of the danger he put Bella in. But his anger couldn't last, not when he was holding Bella like this, not when she needed him to hurry.

"What are you doing here?" a sharp voice snapped and he turned and found himself face to face with Sam.

O

"It's Bella," Alice said, mind flashing through the images as if in slow motion. The crash... the blood... the pain...

She couldn't stand seeing that and not doing anything, she had to do something. She got up and ran after Edward... surely she could help somehow.

"Alice," Jasper's worried voice came from behind her and she could tell that Emmett was with him.

"Tell us what happened!" Emmett said, in an oddly weak sounding voice.

"She was in a car accident," Alice explained, still running but she stopped suddenly and Jasper and Emmett flew past her.

"Alice?" they both said, knowing that something had changed... fearing what that change might be.

"I can't see... they're not there!" Alice said in a panic.

"The wolves!" Emmett said immediately.

"Edward," Alice groaned. "She was on their land... he's going to cross the boundary!"

Emmett cussed.

"We don't need this right now," Jasper groaned.

"Why are we stopping? Edward is going to need us to back him up!" Emmett said, but Alice grabbed his arm.

"No, you can't go there, Emmett!" Alice growled. "A fight will start for sure if you do go and that's the last thing we need right now!"

"But... Edward... Bella!" Emmett protested. "If the wolves..."

"They might let Edward go once they see Bella," Alice said and flinched at that.

"You don't know that!" Emmett argued.

"Alice... what should we do?" Jasper asked, trying to calm them both down.

"Jazz, take the Volvo to the hospital... you're going to have to stain the passenger seat with blood..." Alice said wincing as she again saw what Bella looked like at the moment. "Edward should be arriving there around that time... if he's not slowed down."

"Okay," Jasper said running back to the house without another word.

"Emmett, I need you to go back to the house and tell Rosalie and Esme what happened... oh and call Carlisle... he should be getting off soon and he must not leave the hospital!" Alice said.

"Alice..." Emmett made to complain.

"Do it, Emmett!" she commanded. "I know you can't stand just standing around but you have to do it this way!"

"Fine," Emmett huffed. "What are you going to be doing?"

"I'm going to go after Edward... just in case," Alice answered and foreseeing his questions she added, "they'll feel threatened if you're anywhere near there, Em... we have to avoid a fight at all cost. Hurry and call Carlisle."

With that being said Alice starting running after Edward again and Emmett ran back home. She ran the same path as Edward had, her mind going over the same things his did, images of a hurt Bella filled her mind too. She, however, paused when she reached the border, as she could see Edward standing with Bella in his arms glaring at Sam.

"I'm here to save her," Edward's voice sounded dead, and she realized that he wasn't glaring at Sam, but looking at him with a crazed kind of panic that went far beyond reason. Right now Edward was capable of doing anything. "Let me go."

Sam wasn't looking at Edward anymore, but at Bella, his eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he looked back at Edward. He opened his mouth to say something but before he could a grey wolf bounded out of the forest straight for Edward.

"EDWARD!" Alice yelled, running again, but she stopped almost immediately, right on the boundary line this time. Sam had exploded in that second's worth of time and immediately the grey wolf fell to the ground, all thoughts of fighting seemed to have been drained from him.

Edward looked at her, shaking his head and then he was gone, running again. She sighed in relief as she saw him bring Bella to Carlisle.

O

Edward tensed as he watched the wolf come at him, he could not fight it, that was for sure. Bella would not survive if he tried. His only option was to run.

"EDWARD!" he heard Alice scream, realizing then that he had actually been hearing her thoughts for almost a minute now without taking that to mean that she was there too.

 _STOP,_ he heard a different thought scream in his mind. The voice was filled with power and it wasn't hard to believe the grey wolf would stop at the sound of it. _Leave him alone._

The grey wolf bowed his head and Edward realized that it was no longer a threat, that it could not attack him as long as the Alpha had commanded him not to. Edward turned his look to the black wolf in front of him.

 _You were foolish to come here, but I will let you go this time,_ Sam thought at him, obviously knowing that he could read minds. _Make sure the other bloodsucker doesn't cross to our territory!_

Edward turned to Alice then and shook his head, knowing she would understand that it would be unwise for her to come toward him and then he ran, ran with all he had towards the hospital... to his father that had to be able to save her.

"Bella, Bella, my Bella, you're going to be okay," he found himself muttering as he ran though the forest, she was still unconscious, her heartbeat was still weak. "You have to be okay."

"Edward," Carlisle said, not surprised at all that he was there; obviously Alice had warned him about what happened. "Put her here."

He did as he was told and Carlisle started to exam her, and seconds later she was having tests done.

"Edward, you're going to have to go to the waiting room," Carlisle said to him, placing a hand on his shoulder in attempt to soothe him.

"I'm not leaving her..."

"It will be easier for me to do what I have to do if you aren't here," Carlisle said in an even tone and Edward nodded his head. Carlisle was right; he would be only an annoyance here. Besides, he would be able to see just as clearly as if he was in the room by looking through Carlisle's eyes. He walked slowly to the waiting room, his feet seeming to know the way to go without his mind telling them what to do. He sat down in one of the seats and closed his eyes, immediately immersing himself into Carlisle's very thoughts as he again examined Bella.

O

"Why are you still here?" Sam asked as he phased back into his human form. He was glaring at Alice as she stood on the boundary line, though she hadn't technically crossed it yet.

Alice didn't answer right away; her eyes had become cloudy as she looked at the damaged truck in front of her.

"Hey! I'm talking to you!" Sam said, trying to get her attention.

"Charlie's coming... here," Alice said, her brows furrowed and Sam thought that it almost looked as if she cared. Of course that couldn't have really been the case; she was probably just thinking about covering up their tracks or something. He was willing to accept the fact that the bloodsucker that had just broken their treaty truly cared about Bella. There is no faking the look of despair that was so clear in the vampire's eyes. He had been reminded of his own pain when he saw Emily hurt and bleeding on the floor, his claws bloody... he shuddered.

Of course he had to let the vampire go after that, he couldn't stand to see that look in anything... anyone's eyes. Then Paul had to come out, claws first. What the boy was thinking he didn't know, that is he didn't know until he transformed himself and realized that the other wolf was seeing only red... seeing only the vampire... holding a bloody girl. He couldn't blame Paul for his reaction, but he couldn't let the attack carry on either. Especially, not when he knew that an innocent girl's life rested in the balance.

Paul stopped immediately at the Alpha command, and he turned his eyes onto the vampire, telling him to go. It was the only thing he could do in the situation like this, but that didn't mean he wanted any other bloodsuckers on his land. He was going to make sure that the female left immediately, but at her words he hesitated.

"... someone called the accident in... he's going to show up here to help," Alice's voice quivered as her eyes went blank again and she sighed, "I don't know what to tell him... I don't know if Bella is going to be okay!"

"Be that as it may, I don't see why you're still here," Sam said coldly.

"Please... let me be there when Charlie comes," Alice said, turning her golden eyes onto Sam, pleading him to give her permission to cross onto his land.

"No," Sam answered immediately. "We'll take care of Charlie... we'll help him get to the hospital."

"I'm not sure how much a naked man is going to be of comfort to him," Alice pointed out, crossly.

Sam felt himself blush a little, realizing she was right.

"Please... I swear I won't do anything but just stand there," Alice said, looking at the truck again. "I would go to the hospital, but I can be of more use here... if you just let me..."

Sam grimaced at her, he didn't want her on his land, but he knew deep down that it would help if he just let her go.

"Can you handle being near the blood?" Sam questioned. "There's an innocent boy in the other car... but I suppose you don't even care about him."

"Not at this moment," Alice admitted coldly, and the hair on the back of his neck rose at the threat in her voice. "But I will not do anything to hurt him. Not as long as Bella is okay."

Sam narrowed his eyes at her, not liking what she said, but realizing he would have just as much anger at the boy if he caused one of his pack members to be hurt and he had to admit that the bloodsuckers had adopted Bella into their pack... coven... family... whatever they were. He could hear the sirens blaring in the distance and he found himself nodding his head.

"Stand there... nowhere else," Sam said. "But don't think that this changes anything. You're not allowed on our land after this."

"I understand," Alice said as she took a step across the barrier, but before she could move farther she turned to him, her expression sad again, and he was again filled with the sense that she cared about something. "You're going to have to tell Jacob about this..."

Alice was gone then, he looked towards the accident and she was there, looking at the truck, but he only slightly paid attention to her, for now he was thinking about the pain his pack brother was going to go through when he heard what had happened.

O

"Edward," the soft concerned voice of Esme said as he opened his eyes to see most of his family there. He didn't hear their thoughts because he was so deep into Carlisle's mind that it would have been easy to believe that he was in the operating room himself.

 _Is she okay?_

 _What's happening?_

 _How bad was it?_

The questions came to his mind and he groaned, "Stop."

"Edward," Esme said again, sitting next to him, her hand resting on his shoulder, her eyes pleading with him for any information he had, but she kept her thoughts from portraying that.

"Carlisle is operating on her," Edward said in a monotone. "He doesn't know yet how bad..." his voice failed him there.

"I'm sure she'll be okay..." Emmett said, a forced smile on his face. Rosalie came over to him and grabbed his hand in support.

Jasper looked around the room, _Where's Alice?_

Edward looked at him at that and he felt guilty for his thoughts, but he knew that Edward had crossed into the wolves' territory and it unnerved him that she wasn't here.

"I don't know," Edward answered his silent questioned. "But she was okay when I saw her... she wouldn't do anything stupid..."

Jasper nodded his head and sat on Edward's other side, putting his hand on Edward's arm and dulling the pain considerably. He closed his eyes again, feeling better now that his family was near him, and going back into Carlisle's mind.

O

He sighed; he hated it when he was called in to look over traffic accidents. It was always difficult to see how badly hurt people can be. He hoped that this one wasn't too bad, but from the sounds of the call he wasn't going to get his wish. He got in his car all the same, it was part of the job to help out whenever he could and he was going to do that now.

He drove down the familiar road to La Push, letting the ambulance go in front of him, knowing that was probably needed more than him. That ambulance had prevented him from realizing at first what was sitting before him, but as soon as he saw the rusty red color he slammed on his brakes. His heart started to race as dread filled him. He got out of the car and ran towards the truck, his mind going over a hundred different possibilities as to what he would find.

"Charlie..." a musical voice said, but something was wrong, the voice shouldn't sound so sad. He turned so he was now standing looking at Alice, trying to read her expression, but he couldn't.

"Tell me..." Charlie demanded; he needed to know what had happened. He needed to know now.

"Edward took her to the hospital," Alice answered, taking a step towards him and placing a freezing cold hand on his arm, that despite the temperature it felt warm to him.

"Edward?" he couldn't make sense of what she said. "But you're not supposed to move..." he found himself saying, he knew that for sure. He was told that if he ever made it to a scene like this before the EMT's that he shouldn't touch anyone in case he made them worse. If they were conscious he was supposed to talk to them.

"Carlisle taught us how to make sure someone is secured properly," Alice said, squeezing his arm in a comforting sort of way. "He drove her to the hospital... he was afraid of waiting..."

Charlie shuddered at that, feeling his legs weaken beneath him. His little girl... afraid of waiting... no he couldn't lose Bella, not when he had just gotten her back in his life.

He was dimly aware that Alice was now holding him up, supporting most of his weight, as he looked towards the accident. The EMT's were getting Tyler out of the van, but his eyes kept moving until they rested on the truck. The door was missing and he could see glass everywhere and a sickening red color that shouldn't be there. He turned back to Alice, feeling queasy.

"I've got to get the hospital now!" he said, though he wasn't sure if he was talking to Alice or himself. Either way, Alice was now helping him go back to his car. He didn't notice anything until he realized that she was putting him into the passage seat. He made to protest, no one was supposed to drive his cruiser but him.

"You're in no condition to drive," Alice said firmly and he couldn't argue with that. He would be a menace on the road right now, so he let her drive. Drive to the hospital. Drive to find out how his daughter was.

O

Edward let out a sigh of relief as Carlisle put down his instruments. Bella was still scratched up, and had lost a lot of blood, and she was probably not going to wake up for several days, but she was okay... She was still alive. He could hear her heartbeat again; it's pace slowly going back to normal.

 **A/N:** **Well, that was a crazy chapter. I really didn't plan on going into Sam's or Charlie's point of view (having planned** **on it being in Alice's), but it just seemed to come out that way when I sat down and started writing this chapter. So now that Bella is going to be okay, I'm sure a big part of the next chapter is going to be about Edward's thoughts on this situation.**

 **On** **another note, people have asked me how far I plan on going in this story and the** **answer is I think about just as far as Breaking Dawn went story wise, but as the way things are now I think only like ten to fifteen more chapters. Also, I would like to explain that the first chapters of this story, basically all the chapters** **leading up to the one where Bella started reading the books, was the** _ **Twilight**_ **story line. At least, in the sense that it was the part that showed Edward and Bella meeting and getting to know each other. I supposed I also went into the New Moon territory with all the wolf stuff. Now I'm going into** _ **Eclispe**_ **, but obviously I can't really follow that story line at all, but as this chapter suggests, there will be some drama in this part of the story.**


	27. The Wait

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Seven

The Wait

He was looking over the x-rays, MRI scans and the multitude of other test results that he had run on Bella. He looked at everything from the slight fracture in her pinky to the much more serious complication in her heart. He frowned when he realized that there was a fair amount of damage to her brain, too. He categorized everything from mundane to most critical. He paused before he walked as quickly as he could in his human charade to the operating room. He wasn't sure where he should start... he knew they were both critical...

The heart, he decided as he opened the door, he would make sure the heart kept beating no matter what else might happen.

Edward groaned as he heard this thought coming from his father, he was alone in the waiting room... it was before even his family had shown up. His thoughts went to Bella, and him being forced to turn her now... having to have an emergency vampirization as she had called it in the book. Would she want that? He knew he couldn't live without her, he knew he couldn't lose her today, but would it have been right to turn her? He couldn't think of how painful it would be for her... for them all... to always know that they could have had a child together and to have that ripped from them. He knew that wasn't something that he would get over... it wouldn't be something either of them could get over and to live through eternity like that... would it be okay?

 _It's just a precaution... I will save her,_ Carlisle voice came to Edward, his father must have known he was listening... must have known what this decision would have done to him.

"I know," Edward said so softly that no human would be able to hear him, but he knew that Carlisle would. "Don't worry about me... just save her."

Carlisle didn't spare him another thought, he immediately went to work on Bella. It was painful to watch... He loved every part of Bella, but that didn't mean he wanted to see her on the operating table like this. But he couldn't look away; he had to hear everything that was going on... hear that things were going okay... know the moment that things went wrong. He noticed that her heart had stopped and he was filled with panic until he remembered from his classes it was supposed to be like this in operations.

"Edward," Esme's soft voice came from a distance and he reluctantly pulled his mind away from Carlisle. He looked up and saw his family was there. He was glad they had come, especially when Jasper dulled his pain. It was better having them there, but it would make things a lot more difficult if things went badly.

He was surprised at his own thought, as he slipped into Carlisle's consciousness again (his dad's thoughts were so in tune to his work that it didn't stop him from making his own musings). He didn't realize that he had been thinking about this, but he realized that he was trying to work out how he would get out of this hospital without his family if things ended badly... and once he was on his own...

He shut his eyes, wondering: what then? He knew he would not live without his Bella, and if Carlisle could not even keep her heart beating, he knew what would need to be done. He didn't, however, know how he would go about doing that. He could not go anywhere near Italy, that was for sure, he wasn't going to bring that kind of danger onto his family. He figured the wolves wouldn't be that hard to persuade to do the job, but again, he didn't want his family to have to pay for the actions he took. Perhaps going to the South would work... he could 'join an army' or just challenge an existing army's territory. That should do it.

As he made up his mind his thoughts were drawn to a complication in the operating room... something was wrong. He could hear the panic in the nurses' thoughts... None of them wanted Chief Swan's daughter to die... he was a good man and it would be such a tragedy if something were to happen to her. This would have sent Edward into misery, but he could hear Carlisle's calm thoughts. He was ten steps ahead of the machines, he knew what had to be done and he was working without panic... without hesitation. Edward linked his thoughts with his dad again. He could think of _what ifs_ later, right now he had to concentrate on the right now. Besides, by letting himself get distracted he was hit with the other thoughts, and right now he found that Carlisle's thoughts were the only thing allowing him to hold onto sanity.

He listened as Carlisle continued to work, finishing with the heart and moving on to the next critical issue. Edward sighed, knowing that her heart would be okay no matter what. Naturally, his family noticed his relief and they asked him about it. He told them quickly that no matter what, her heart would still be beating. This caused everyone to get tense. They understood like he did what this might mean.

 _NO!_ The protest from Rosalie was so loud that it prevented him from fully slipping into Carlisle's mind again. He would have growled at her if he'd had the energy, but he found at her next thought he didn't need too. _She would be so devastated... She might even become as resentful as me, being so close..._

Edward didn't listen any more, the fact that his sister's first thought was about how Bella would react to this and not of actually never being able to see Renesmee was comforting in a way. He was sure his sister had come to love Bella as a new sister, and care for her as such, but this proved that she really wanted Bella for Bella. The satisfaction of hearing this only made his chest ache... it meant nothing if Bella wasn't here... wasn't still human.

Edward panicked again, and went back to Carlisle's mind, glad when he was still working calmly. As long as he was calm, things were going okay. Hours seemed to have passed, the waiting room got more crowded with people. He noticed that Alice showed up with Charlie not too long after he had spoken to his family. Esme left his side so she could console Charlie instead and Alice came to sit in between him and Jasper. He got no thoughts from Charlie in that moment (which hadn't happened to him since his first encounter with Bella's father), but there was an overwhelming sense of pain and worry that was similar to his own.

"Did you see..." Jasper asked, but instead of finishing the question he nodded his head towards the operating room. It wasn't like Jasper to not be able to finish a question; he was always so calm and detached when he was trying to ask questions like this. Edward knew the atmosphere in this room was really getting to him, but it was more than that, he was terrified of what might happen to Bella.

"No," Alice answered simply.

They sat like that, not quite as still as statues, for there were too many humans around, but they were close. Edward grimaced when he heard that Tyler was going to be okay... that he just had a broken arm and a mild concussion. He started to see red that he would be okay when his Bella was in such a critical state. He knew he wasn't the only one that was angry about this; most of his family's thoughts were just as furious as his own. He would have happily broken a lot more of Tyler, but that would have to wait until later.

He thought of this, though his mind couldn't help but go back to the accident. How preventing something from the book had only made something a hundred times worse happen. So many questions were brought up by this too. Would Tyler have become a more responsible driver if that first accident had happened as it was supposed to or would Bella have been in this accident in that reality too if she'd been driving anywhere during this time of the year? Would something come of their other choices to change things? Would letting Laurent live somehow come back to haunt them like he feared? Would something worse than what happened in the books come after them... trying to ruin their happiness? Had they somehow screwed with fate and now it was going to screw with them?

It was then that Alice had a vision that helped Edward relax a little;

 _Edward was sitting next to Bella in the hospital bed, she was still unconscious, but the heart monitor beat with a strong regularity... Carlisle was standing at the door, he didn't say anything but he looked pleased._

" _I know," Edward in the vision sighed, turning to his father with an annoyed expression._ The worry wasn't out of the Edward's face, but both Alice and the real Edward knew that Bella was going to make it. They let out a relieved breath in unison.

"What?" Emmett asked, in a tone only the vampires could hear.

Alice explained her vision and everyone else seemed to share in their relief.

It was almost an hour later that Jacob came to the hospital, finding all of them there... his expression asking the question his voice seemed unable to. Alice got up and hugged him as she whispered, "she's going to be okay... I saw it."

Jacob tightened his grip on the tiny vampire and mumbled, "Thank God."

Alice, with Jasper who didn't want to be away from his wife, took Jacob away from everyone and explained everything that happened. After which Jasper asked why it had taken so long for Jacob to get to the hospital, didn't Sam tell him this hours ago?

"Yeah..." Jacob groaned and Edward saw it in his memory. The pain it had caused Jacob to hear that Bella was in a car accident... it was not as deep as his own, but it was deeper than Edward was comfortable with. The blame he felt that this happened because she was visiting him... how he wished that he had a party in some neutral place knowing that Bella would never have been in any danger from a car if any of the vampires had been near her. Edward of course had thought this too, but he was surprised that Jacob would blame himself. He found that he didn't blame the werewolf... He wished he was there, but it wasn't Jacob's fault that this happened.

"I phased," Jacob said to Jasper and now Edward saw how Jacob's pain, self loathing, and anger that something like this would happen to Bella had caused the boy to become a wolf. How the pain dulled... how everything got easier to deal with in the wolf form. Still the boy tried to phase back... trying to get here to the hospital, but though his pain was dulled it was still too strong to let him go back. As he paced as a wolf, trying to find enough peace to become a boy again, he felt as if he might lose not only his best friend, but something more. He didn't understand this at all, but this feeling, this sense of losing something more wasn't being dulled. He had tried not to think of this, but it didn't go away and as soon as he embraced the feeling, he found the peace he needed and he was able to phase.

"I came here as quickly as I could," Jacob finished and soon the three of them rejoined everyone in the waiting room.

Edward thought that Jacob's mind would be full of questions about the meaning about what had just happened, but Jacob didn't seem to be thinking about anything but Bella's recovery. Edward didn't spare the boy another thought after that, he could worry about the Jacob issue later, Bella really was what was important now.

This wait wasn't as long though, it was only another twenty minutes before Carlisle put down his instruments and was looking over Bella critically, making sure he didn't miss anything. Edward looked through Carlisle's eyes and was just as satisfied as Carlisle was that everything was done and now it was time for her to heal. His family and Jacob seemed to realize that something like this was happening; he must have been showing some kind of emotion again. However, they all waited patiently for Carlisle to come to tell them the good news.

"Carlisle..." Charlie jumped up as soon as he saw the pale doctor. Charlie's face looked almost as pale as their own in that moment; his eyes were bloodshot and crazed.

Carlisle gave him a reassuring smile that clearly said that Bella was okay, before he explained the technical things that he had done. Charlie didn't seem to take the words in, but he did understand the smile. His mind seemed to be screaming his relief.

"Would you like to see her?" Carlisle asked after the explanation and that question seemed to catch the attention of both Charlie and Edward. "Only two visitors at a time."

"Please..." Charlie said.

"Charlie can I..." Edward said getting up, it felt wrong that he would have to ask permission to see Bella, but he didn't know what else to do.

Charlie didn't say a word, but nodded his head.

"Okay, follow me," Carlisle said, and he led them to Bella's room.

Edward, of course, had seen what Bella had looked like through Carlisle's eyes, but it didn't hurt any less to see her now. To see just how weak and fragile she was.

"Bella," Charlie let out a sigh that Edward wouldn't have been able to hear if he wasn't a vampire. So many images of Bella filled Edward's head, all the memories that Charlie seemed to have seen to be filtering to the surface, and Charlie's fierce thought that this wasn't the last time that he was going to see his daughter... he was going to see her living and being happy.

Edward sat down near Bella and grabbed her hand, and a smile twitched his lips as he felt the warmth of it. She might not have smelt right with all that transfused blood, but the warmth was familiar. Carlisle was still talking to Charlie, but too quickly for what was comfortable for Edward, Charlie asked for a moment alone with Bella.

Edward frowned, not wanting to leave her side for even a second, but Carlisle's thoughts on the matter made him reluctantly get up.

"Thank you," Charlie said to Edward before he could leave. "Alice said that... that you brought her here..." Edward nodded his head.

"Yes, it was good that you got her to me so quickly," Carlisle said smiling at Edward, which was slightly put on for Charlie's sake, but Edward knew that his dad was proud, too.

Charlie nodded his head and repeated, "Thanks... Both of you... you'll never know what this means to me."

"I think I have some idea," Edward mumbled, eyes on his Bella, and Charlie made no sign of arguing, he just turned back to his daughter and took the seat that Edward had just been in.

Edward and Carlisle left the room then, giving Charlie some time with his daughter.

It felt wrong walking away from Bella right now, but he did, determined that he would be back in her room within an hour. When he got to the waiting room he realized that most of his family had left, though Esme was still there. She moved over to hug him.

Edward turned quickly as a new scent hit him and he narrowed his eyes in fury. It seemed that Tyler was going to be going home today... wasn't going to have to stay in the hospital for days... he wasn't going to have to recover for months.

"Edward," Esme whispered softly as she tried to soothe his anger. He could hear in her thoughts that even she wasn't too pleased with the boy at the moment and if it weren't for his parents worrying about him she might not have been so defensive of the boy. But after what she just went through, she wouldn't wish that kind of pain onto anyone else.

Edward pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that she was right. "You were the one that reported the accident, weren't you?"

"I hated thinking about someone being out there alone and hurt... having people worrying about them..." Esme sighed, softly.

"Hmph," was all Edward said to that, "I think I need some fresh air."

Esme sighed too, but she let him go. Edward knew though, as much as she worried about him, she was really waiting for Carlisle... that he was the only one that could make her feel better in this moment. He didn't begrudge her that, he just wished that he could be with his Bella and feel that same comfort right now.

He had planned to take a short run as soon as he got out of the hospital... he wanted to work off some of his pent up anxiety but he found himself rooted to the spot as he noticed his Volvo in the parking lot, his eyes immediately going to the passenger side and he could smell the blood from here.

"That's not..." someone said from behind him and he grimaced, he really was letting too many people sneak up on him today.

"No, it's just a prop," Edward said, turning to face Jacob, the boy was looking strung out. "The explanation of how I got her here..."

"Of course..." Jacob shook his head, "I know you ran her here..." he trailed off, and seemed to go on to a different train of thought. "I'm just glad she wasn't driving the Volvo..."

"What?" Edward said. Did the mutt really care that much about his car?

"The truck can take much more of a beating than any car that you have," Jacob clarified seeming to realize how Edward had misunderstood him. "I don't know if she would have..."

Edward hissed at this.

"Sorry... not helping," Jacob bowed his head, he was thinking about how pleased he was that he repaired that truck and pushed his dad to sell it to anyone willing to buy it. He couldn't stand how slow it was, but he couldn't deny that the heavy metal frame made it withstand a great impact.

"Jacob, can you get to the point?" Edward asked impatiently, he really didn't want to deal with the boy right now, but he moved to the forest so they could be alone all the same. "I know you didn't come out here to talk to me about the car Bella drives. And if this is about how you feel about Bella... or you're going to tell me you're in love with her or something you can just save it..."

"So you did hear my thoughts before," Jacob sighed. "No... that's not what this is about... Well sort of... but..."

"Jake just get to it," Edward growled.

"I don't understand anything I was feeling today," Jacob said starting to pace, "it doesn't make any sense why it should feel like this... I know you're her happily ever after."

"Really... didn't you ever wonder what happened in the last book?" Edward asked, trying to focus so he wouldn't have to hear the boy try to figure out what to say.

"Not really... I figured you two got married, you made her a vampire, and lived happily ever after," Jacob shrugged. "And knowing Bella's luck you probably had a huge fight in there somewhere, one that was probably even worse than the newborn army trying to get Bella."

Edward raised an eyebrow at how close Jacob was to the truth, though he was missing a key element to the story.

"What I don't get is why it felt like I was going to lose my best friend... and something more," Jacob went on to say, pausing in his pacing to grab his head, as if the thought was physically hurting him. _But it was separate... not the same and yet the same... I just don't get it!_

Edward groaned he really didn't want to deal with this now. It seemed like Jacob was close to understanding what was really going on. Connecting the dots.

"I know it would be best if I didn't see her again... not now..." Jacob said. "I don't want to hurt her like she was in the book... And I know she won't want me around now either... But please... you've got to let me see her at least once..."

Edward really hadn't expected this, and so he didn't know how to respond at first. "Okay, Jake," Edward said grabbing his arm in a supporting manner.

"Thanks," Jacob sighed and then walked away, and Edward was glad the boy realized he wanted to be alone. He scanned the hospital, hearing Charlie's thoughts, knowing that he had to still give him a little more time. He gritted his teeth, wishing to just go back inside already, but instead he started running. He wasn't sure where he was going at first, but he realized when he found himself in lot full of totaled cars that he had wanted to look at the wreckage of the day.

 _I would not have guessed that you would come here_ , Alice thought as she ran towards him, _which just means I'm lucky I don't really ever have to guess about things._

"Alice, I don't really want..." Edward said, he didn't really think he could deal with his hyperactive sister right now. He frowned, looking at the direction she was coming from, she was singing the national anthem in her head. He wondered what she was trying to keep from him, his mind filling with dread as he thought of a reason she would be doing this... he felt his body freeze. _No, no, no, no... it can't be... she..._ he thought and his mind went wild, and he had to get out of here.

"Argh," Alice groaned, "It's not that you idiot."

Edward looked at her and she was right before him and as quick as lightening she slapped him across the face with such force that it knocked him to the ground.

"What?" Edward started to say.

"How could you, Edward!" Alice hissed at him. "We made a deal! You weren't ever to think about doing something that idiotic again!"

Edward looked at her in confusion and he heard the pain and anger in her thoughts as she showed the vision of him in the South, talking to a vampire that neither of them knew…talking about wanting to take over their territory for himself.

"I saw that while I was trying to drive Charlie to the hospital!" Alice hissed to him. "Do you have any idea how panicked I was that you were actually running out right then!"

"If you saw that..." Edward said, not really listening to his sister as he thought of the only reason she would have had that vision, "then she must have had a chance of..."

Alice shuddered with him as he came to that conclusion. "And I would have lost my sister and brother in the same day! Edward, how could you even think about doing that still?!"

"You know the answer to that, Alice," Edward sighed.

"You won't live without her," Alice grumbled, she did know the answer to that. "But you promised me that you wouldn't do anything like this... we made a deal after the first chapter of _New Moon_! You weren't to go out and get yourself killed..."

"That was if I had sixty or seventy years with Bella!" Edward countered. "I haven't even had one yet!"

"Edward," Alice said miserably.

"Alice," Edward said stubbornly, "just tell me this... would you do anything different if you lost Jasper?"

Alice flinched at the mere mention of that and she didn't let herself think about it, "I don't know Edward... and I never want to find out."

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Edward sighed. "I know you didn't need another thing to worry about today."

"Hmph," Alice huffed.

"Thank you... for not saying anything to anyone," Edward added, thinking about how the rest of the family would have taken this news.

"They didn't need to have any more pain put on them today," Alice said harshly and Edward flinched. She sighed and then went to sit next to her bother. "And I'm not going to tell anyone this... well, except Jasper. All it would do is hurt them. But please, Edward, I don't ever want to see that again... or any other way you could think of to end your life."

"I don't ever want to think it again," Edward agreed he was looking at the van in front of him and just a little ways away he could see Bella's truck.

"Why did you come here anyway, Edward?" Alice asked, noticing where he was looking with a shudder.

"Just something Jacob said." Edward sighed. "And he was right... if she had been in any of our cars... or any car I would have bought her... it probably would have been instant..." he couldn't finish his thought, but she didn't need him too.

"Not if you got her that missile proof car you did in the book," Alice said, her eyes showing as much amusement as she could muster in that moment (which wasn't much).

"I suppose," Edward said, his lips almost twitching towards a smile, and for that second, he was glad that Alice had found him here.


	28. Recovery

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Recovery

Edward had run back to the hospital not long after Alice had joined him... he just couldn't stay away any longer and though Charlie was still there when he got back (looking worse than Edward had ever seen him) he was allowed to take a seat next to Bella. He gently took her hand again, the connection made him relax considerably, but not completely. He knew that the anxiety wouldn't leave him until she opened her eyes and he could see she was all right.

He stayed there the whole night, even after Charlie was taken home by Esme, making sure that he got there safely. Normally he would have been kicked out of the room, but there was a benefit to being the son of the head doctor, no one bothers you even when you're doing something that was against the rules. Not that it mattered anyway; he wouldn't have left Bella's side again for anything.

"All the teachers told me to inform you that you're not excused from any of the homework or exams that go on this week," Alice said him on Tuesday; it had been three days since the accident and Bella still hadn't woken up. He would have been worried, but heard from not only Carlisle, but also all the nurses (who didn't know that he could read their minds and therefore he knew that they were telling him the truth) that Bella was okay, she just needed to rest.

"I don't care about that," Edward said, there was no way he was going to leave Bella.

"I know," Alice said sitting next to Edward. "I just wanted to be here... and I figured that I might as well pass along the message."

Edward looked at her carefully then, why would she want to be here right now? And why was she so excited? He looked back at Bella, hoping it meant that she was going to wake up soon. He was right to hope that, for it seemed that almost at that precise moment Bella's eyelids started to move. It was slow, gradual work but she was definitely waking up. The millisecond after her eyes had opened he heard Alice leave the room, her thoughts telling him that she was giving him some time alone with his Bella.

O

Everything seemed to be moving slowly... it took a lot of effort to try to make sense about what was going on. It was dark, but she realized, after thinking about it for a long time, that it was because her eyes were closed. She would have opened them, but the lids were so heavy, as was the rest of her body. She tried to think about why that was and her mind flashed to a scene;

 _She had been driving home from Jacob's party, thinking about what she was going to do about her having to determine the relationship with him. Everything seemed so normal, but then she heard screeching tires and as she looked to the side of her everything around her became granular and surreal. Her heart accelerated as she saw the van come towards her... she remember thinking what the hell was Tyler thinking turning into her like this... there was nowhere for him to go... And then..._

Nothing...

She didn't remember what happened after that. It had been horrible though, he was coming so fast... there was nothing she could do...

She heard a high pitched noise then, distracting her from trying to remember the accident... she was grateful, she didn't want to think about that. But what was the high pitch noise she wondered? When the lower, almost musical noise answered it, she felt her body relax some. Again her mind seemed to be working slower than normal, for it had taken her a while to realize the second noise was Edward's voice... what else would make her feel so at peace?

The peace didn't last though, as she thought about what he would be going through if she was in a car accident... and who knew how long she had just been lying here...

She opened her eyes then, slowly of course, they were still really heavy, but she wouldn't let Edward be anxious for a second longer than he had to be. As soon as her sight came into focus she knew she was right to fight off the weariness and open her eyes, for Edward's face looked so worried, and yet there was a lot of happiness there too.

"Bella," Edward whispered the word reverently and she felt her heart react to his voice.

She tried to respond to him but she couldn't seem to make her mouth work for the moment.

"Bella," Edward repeated, more worried this time. She watched as his panicked eyes seemed to look over every inch of her, as if worried something had gone wrong.

"I..." Bella trying harder to speak, but her throat was sore and she couldn't force the words out. Edward's eyes snapped to hers and she tried to portray that she was okay... that he need not panic about her. He seemed to relax a little as he continued to look into her eyes and she knew that he got her message.

"Do you want some water?" Edward asked softly, he had noticed her wince as she had tried to speak. She nodded her head and seconds later she had a glass of water in his hand. She wasn't sure where he got it from, but she didn't care as he raised the glass to her lips.

"Better?" Edward asked, his eyes never leaving hers, his hands now stroking her face softly.

"I think so," Bella said, her words still coming out rough, but she didn't care as she saw Edward's relieved smile at the sound of her voice.

"I've missed that," he said so lowly she wasn't sure she was supposed to hear him.

"What happened?" she asked, looking around the room. There were flowers and get well cards from all her friends and acquaintances. She must have been in here for at least a few days if they had time to get her something. She shuddered at the thought of Edward having to sit here worrying about her for any period of time. "How long..."

"It's been almost three days," he said, and she could see the pain in his eyes, though he was trying hard to hide it. "And you were in a car accident..." the way he said it caught her off guard a little, she didn't know why he sounded so bitter.

"I know," she said and took another slip of her water, trying to clear her throat more so she could talk without it hurting. "How bad was it...?" she felt she had to ask, though after she had she wished she hadn't, his face crumbled slightly and she could see the pain he was in.

"Bad..." Edward choked out, "I didn't know if you were going to be okay..."

"Alice couldn't see..." Bella started to ask as she tried to move her arms so she could comfort him but they were still so heavy and as she fought to move, they started to hurt. She looked down then and saw that she was wearing several casts, her left wrist seemed to be broken, her right leg as well; and there was a splint on her right hand holding her pinky and her ring finger together. That was all the injures that she could see, but she could feel more... she knew that at least one of her ribs were broken.

Edward stayed quiet as he watched her look over her injures, but she could feel his growing anxiety and looked up at him, trying to smile, but seeing that it didn't help.

"No... she couldn't see if you were okay... not at first," Edward answered her unfinished statement, and again it was clear he was putting all his efforts into not breaking down, not showing her the extent of his pain. "I was so afraid that I was going to lose you..."

"I'm so sorry, Edward," Bella groaned, she had wished that he would never have to experience that pain in reality, she was hoping that reading the book would have prevented her from ever getting hurt, but it seemed like that was too much to hope for. Was it realistic for her to believe that this would be the only pain they would have to suffer? The only hurdle they had to cross?

"It's not your fault, Bella," Edward sighed, again stroking her cheek, which automatically made her worries dull. He smiled, obviously happy that he could comfort her (and she felt a little annoyed that she wasn't physically capable of doing that for him right now). He looked away a second later, as he seemed unable to mask his bitterness any longer.

"It's not yours either," Bella said soothingly.

He let out a single chuckle to that, it sounded amused and humorless at the same time. He was only thinking about how easily she was able to read him.

"I know," Edward sighed, "but it doesn't stop me from wishing I could have been there."

"So do I... you know how much I hate hospitals and that would have kept me out of one," Bella said, trying to sound light, and glad that her voice was going back to normal.

"So that leaves me to blame Tyler," Edward said darkly.

"Edward?" Bella said worriedly, not liking the look in his eyes.

"Don't worry; I won't do anything to him even though he deserves a lot worse than the broken arm..." Edward grumbled, and there was a look in Edward's eyes that Bella didn't like. He seemed to notice her disapproval and added, "At least Charlie was able to get his driver's license taken away... that imbecile was driving drunk..." he couldn't keep the growl out of his voice as he said this, "though he claims that he saw a deer and that's why he swerved..."

"Is it true?" Bella asked Edward's voice seemed to portray his doubt.

"I wouldn't know seeing as I haven't gone anywhere near the boy," Edward said, and Bella shivered knowing that wouldn't be a good thing, and knowing that there was a part of Edward that really did want to go near him... "I, of course, have not left your side since I was able to be here. But according to Charlie's thoughts, it's doubtful."

"Oh," was all Bella had to say to that. She then tried to search for something to say that would make Edward feel better... she blurted out the first thing to come to her mind, "how's my truck?"

"Totaled," Edward winced and she groaned. That really wasn't the best subject to bring up if she wanted him to relax. "And I suppose I should tell you that I'm sorry about every bad thing I said about your truck..."

Bella looked at him confused.

"I think it probably saved your life," Edward said softly.

"I told you it was a good truck," Bella smiled at him and he couldn't help but return it.

"Yes, it was," Edward nodded his head. "But of course now we're going to have to come up with a replacement for you... something just as sturdy but preferably something that can go faster than sixty miles an hour."

"I'll let you deal with the details," Bella rolled her eyes.

"You're not going to put up a fight about me getting you a car?" Edward asked with over exaggerated shock.

"No... there's no point," Bella smiled at him. "Though I thought after this you would want to drive me everywhere."

"That's not a bad idea," he smiled at her.

"It think it's better than the thought of having to drive a tank around town," she smiled as Edward chuckled, it was so nice to see laughter in his eyes, though it was still guarded... still pained.

"Everyone was worried about you," he sighed. "Me most of all, of course..."

"Just tell me that you didn't think about leaving me," she said. "That your mind didn't even once think that I would be better off without you..."

He shook his head at her, "it never crossed my mind."

"Good," she said, she was reading his expression closely. "How bad was it... for you?"

"You almost died," he said not bothering to hide his feelings for her, she wanted to see them, and he needed to show them. "It was the longest ten hours of my life... each minute seemed to carry on in an agonizingly slow pace... wondering if I would even get to see you again."

She sighed, she wanted to know what he had been thinking during the time but she was also afraid... She decided not to ask him, if he wanted to tell her he would.

"I... there is something that I don't want to talk about, but I need you to know," he said in an agonized voice that had Bella wishing again that she could move her arms, wishing that she could comfort him.

"What is it, Edward?" she asked softly.

"I don't want to believe that you'll ever be hurt again," he said, his voice was now emotionless... or at least he was struggling to keep it that way, "but I didn't think you would ever get hurt in the first place. It was foolish for us to believe that we could prevent all the danger..."

"Edward," she said softly, he was starting to ramble, not a good sign, it meant that he was really worried about what he had to say to her.

He took a deep breath and then said, "If you were ever hurt so badly in the future... and I assure you that I will do everything I can to make sure that will never happen..." he said this part fiercely and she believed him completely. However, his tone when he started speaking again was sorrowful, his eyes were showing a pain that she couldn't understand, "Would you want us to change you...?"

"Of course," she answered immediately and without thinking. How could he even ask that? She needed to live, she knew that Edward be devastated if she didn't. What would make...? She didn't even finish thinking that thought for she realized what she would be missing at the same time he said...

"Knowing you couldn't have Renesmee?"

Bella's eyes started to water, she didn't want to think of that. To think that because she was hurt that she wouldn't be able to have a child... her Renesmee. She didn't want to think how hard that would be on Edward... their family. Still, she couldn't let him lose both her and their unborn child in the same stroke. It would be a sorrow they would have to live with for eternity, but she would choose that rather than leaving Edward alone.

"Yes," she said tearfully, and Edward sighed. "Was there a chance of that happening?"

"Not really," he said, softly. "Carlisle had just made the choice to fix your heart first... to make sure that it would keep beating no matter what else might have happened... It made me think..."

"I'm so sorry," she said with tears falling down her check.

"Shh... it's okay," he said soothingly, wiping the tear away. "I should have waited... you didn't need to deal with this right now..."

"No... it's better to get this over with now," she sighed. "So is there anything else you need to tell me?"

"Hm... let's see," he said. "Well, I had to cross the boundary line to La Push to get to you..."

"Edward," she groaned, she would hate to be the reason they started a fight.

"Don't worry, nothing happened," he said soothingly. "Sam seemed to understand how I was feeling... I don't think he would ever be able to hold this against me."

"That's good at least," she sighed.

"Jacob showed up here... of course," he said and she looked at him with a raised eyebrow, for he shouldn't be almost angry about that.

Edward smiled at her, the ease of which she seemed to read him made him happy... the fact that she was awake and able to do that too filled him with joy. It made everything else, even the Jacob issue, seem easier to deal with.

"He phased when he learned that you were hurt..." he started to explain, "It was odd to hear that he had actually believed that it was partly his fault because you came down to see him and I wasn't allowed to be there..."

"Oh... it was his birthday," she groaned. "Poor Jacob..."

They were silent for a little while after that but Edward started explaining again, "Anyway, he couldn't phase back to himself at first, because he was so worried about you. He was afraid that he was going to lose his best friend and something more..." Bella flinched at those words.

"Oh great," she sighed, it looked like she wasn't going to be able to see Jacob much anymore if he was thinking like that.

"But they were separate... different from one another," he continued to say. "I think he's going to figure out what we're keeping from him."

"Even better," she mumbled.

"You would rather not speak to your friend than tell him what's really going on?" he questioned.

"You would rather we tell him?" she asked in return, surprised.

"He's suffering because he knows that you're not an ordinary girl to him, that you mean more to him than what he knows is right." he said thoughtfully. "He's struggling to find a reason for it and he's terrified that if he keeps feeling this way you won't want to see him anymore."

"Well, when you point it out like that," she said looking down. "I didn't realize I was hurting him..."

"I don't think you really were, not before the accident," he said truthfully. "Jacob didn't have any reason to explore these feeling before and now... when he came to visit you I heard this line of questioning in his head, though he tried not to think of it much."

"I suppose I will have to tell him then," she sighed.

"You don't seem too upset about that," he noted.

"Part of me sort of wants him to know... it's hard keeping something like this from someone you're close to," she shrugged and then winced at the soreness in her shoulders.

"You look tired, you should get some rest," he said.

"I've been asleep for three days," she pointed out but he just smiled at her and started humming her lullaby. Though she didn't fall asleep right away, preferring to stare into Edward's eyes for as long as she could, they didn't really talk much after that.

O

Bella stayed in the hospital for another week, which now that she was conscious she really didn't like. It wasn't so bad though, because Edward was by her side the entire time. She had a stream of visitors coming and going during that time, which only made her wish that she could go home quicker. She even tried to ask if she could have stayed at the Cullens' house as a patient there, but Alice had seen that Charlie wouldn't like that idea one bit so she had to suffer in the hospital.

Surprisingly, Emmett had come to visit her a lot. Actually it wasn't that surprising because he seemed to have found the perfect way to get to his brother and there was nothing either of them could do about it with the way things where. Somehow it had gotten around to the Cullens that she was curious about how her power worked and if she could learn to project her shield when she was still human. None of them were sure how she could go about trying to do that because they didn't have a power that would hurt anyone. There was nothing she could shield them from, no danger, so she wouldn't feel either the need or the fury she needed to make it project properly.

"Bella, I just had a brilliant idea," Emmett said, coming into the private room that she had now. Edward was sitting in the seat next to her and his face quickly fell as he heard his brother's thoughts.

"Okay?" Bella said confused as to why Emmett was there.

"You know how we've all been thinking about your shield right?" Emmett asked the biggest grin on his face and now Bella felt wary too.

"Yeah..." she said slowly, for there was nothing else to say.

"And we thought that you couldn't even try to practice this because there wasn't anyone that you would need to protect... and that you couldn't be mad enough to make it work!" Emmett said excitedly.

"Just get to the point!" Bella grumbled.

"Well, I'm here to volunteer my service," Emmett beamed. "I can think of things that will make Eddie boy cringe and I can be so annoying to you that you'll be wishing to kick me out..."

"Emmett..." Bella groaned.

"See... it's already working," Emmett chuckled. "And if you look at Edward... you can see that my thoughts can really get to him easily..."

Bella did look at Edward, who was pinching the bridge of his nose, looking more annoyed than pained, but it was clear he really didn't like what his brother was thinking about.

"Emmett, I don't think..." Bella started to say.

"I'm not leaving, Bella, so you might as well practice," Emmett smirked at her before sitting down in a chair that was on the opposite side of the bed from Edward. Of course Emmett didn't really need to sit down nor did Edward for that matter) but if a nurse came in to check on her she would be suspicious as to why he was still standing after being there for so long.

So, naturally Emmett came to visit Bella and torture Edward a lot after that, and of course she did try to save Edward from his obvious torture, but it didn't work at all. Bella wondered after the third time that Emmett showed up why Edward even bothered putting up with it, why he didn't just tell Carlisle that Emmett was coming here and making sure that he didn't come back.

"He's worried about you, Bella," Edward sighed, "he's never really had someone that could be hurt like this, none of us have, but he has really come to see you as a little sister and he wants to be close to you..."

"Oh," Bella said, blushing slightly.

"Of course, he enjoys torturing me too," Edward grumbled this time. "He finds that to be a very entertaining way to pass his time here."

"I really wish he wouldn't do that," Bella sighed. "Especially since it's clearly not working... I'm not shielding you at all... I hate how pained you look sometimes."

"I know," Edward smiled at her. "But I really don't mind. Well, that's a lie, I do mind. It's just... I do like the idea of you working on this; you never know if it would be of use to us... and it probably would help you a lot when you turn... you'll have some practice under your belt then."

"Okay," Bella sighed. "As long as you don't mind being the guinea pig, then I can work on this."

"Thanks Bella," Edward smiled at her.


	29. The Truth

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Nine

The Truth

Bella was now lying on her couch. She hated that even though she was finally out of the hospital Edward wouldn't let her even lift a finger, but she tried to be patient. She knew that it really had been hard on him when he saw the accident in Alice's mind and then he had to see her bruised and broken as she slowly healed. In fact, she still wore a boot on her ankle; her arm was in a cast though thankfully her finger was back to normal. She was also grateful that the bruises were gone and his worried expression seemed to leave with them.

Another thing she was grateful for was that Charlie had stopped hovering as much... he had been ridiculously attentive when she had first returned home, almost as if Edward was giving him pointers on just how to worry the right (or in her opinion wrong) way. But Charlie couldn't really stay off work for long and Bella was pleased about this because it meant she and Edward could be alone longer. Though it was true that Charlie's attitude towards Edward had become better since the accident, that didn't mean that he was going to let the boy stay late to all hours of the night.

"Ahhh..." Edward let out a breath and then frowned.

"What is it?" Bella questioned, looking at him warily.

"Nothing terrible," Edward chuckled at her expression, "but it seems that Jacob is here to visit you."

"Oh!" Bella said, not sure what to think about that. She had agreed that she would tell Jacob the whole truth about the imprinting thing, and this was the first time that she was going to be seeing him. He had not visited her in the hospital, which she had to admit hurt a little.

Jacob didn't even have to knock; Edward opened the door before he got there.

"Hey," Jacob said tentatively, "Can I come in?"

"Of course," Edward said.

"This isn't your house, Edward," Bella grumbled from the couch.

"Mm... I take that to mean that you're mad at me," Jacob frowned.

"Not really... I was just pointing out that I'm the one you should have asked," Bella shrugged.

"You look better," Jacob said with a smile and Bella raised an eyebrow at that. "I saw you before you woke up..." he tried to explain, at the same time trying not to think about how Bella looked, neither he nor Edward needed to see that again, "you look like Bella again now..."

"Thanks," Bella said. "But you know you could have come and seen me sooner... I've been looking like Bella for a while..."

"Sorry about that..." Jacob sighed. "But I knew when I saw you again... well, we have a lot to talk about... it's not something I wanted to say in the hospital."

"Oh... right," Bella said lamely, looking sad.

"Do you mind if I have some time to talk to Bella?" Jacob questioned Edward.

"Again... isn't that something you should ask me?" Bella grumbled.

"Sorry," Jacob chuckled. "I was just wondering... well..."

"If I was capable of leaving Bella," Edward said half smiling, but his eyes said that the truth was he really wasn't at this moment.

"Actually, I want Edward to stay," Bella said. "Because... well, there are some things we actually have to tell you. Something we probably should have told you before... but I hope you'll understand how we feel after we tell you."

"Hm..." Edward said not sure if they really should have told Jacob about this before or not. But he agreed that it was necessary. "You probably should sit down; this is a lot to take in."

"Um... okay?" Jacob said looking at them both confusedly as he sat in the chair that Charlie normally used. "I'm guessing this has something to do with the weird feelings I'm having for you, Bella?"

"Yes," Bella said.

 _Mm... I've been thinking about this for nearly three weeks and I still haven't come up with anything that's plausible... I don't understand though... they seem to be so sure about how I'm feeling? How the hell would they know that? Oh... it must have..._

"And this has something to do with the last book, doesn't it?" Jacob said.

"Yes," Edward answered. "And yes..." at this Bella looked at him questioningly and he added, "He wanted to know if this is the reason why you didn't give him this book too."

"So, what is it?" Jacob asked, and then in an attempt to lighten the situation he added with a chuckle, "I don't imprint on your incredibly hot cousin or anything like that? Right?"

Bella just looked at Jacob, astonished that he would say that... that he would be so close, but completely wrong at the same time. Edward was shocked too at first, but went back to normal as he listened to Jacob's musing.

 _Wow, look at them, did I guess right? No that can't be, I don't think Bella would have minded if I liked her cousin. Besides, I don't even think she has a cousin, she hasn't mentioned one yet... Argh... that's so not important right now. Hm... Something tells me it does have something to do with imprinting..._

"What would make you think this has anything to do with imprinting?" Bella questioned.

 _Now I'm sure it has something to do with it,_ Jacob thought before he said, "Well... I'm not sure really. All I know is that all my thoughts end up there. But I know that you're definitely not my imprint.

"Sam thought that it could be because you were actually supposed to be my imprint, but because you fell in love with Edward that it was impossible for me to imprint on you. I mean... it wouldn't really be good if we could imprint on someone that no matter how much we love them they can't return it..."

"That makes sense," Edward said and Jacob looked at him sadly, as if he was about to tell Jacob that was what was going on. Edward sighed, "I didn't mean it was the right theory, I was just saying that it makes sense that you couldn't imprint on someone that's already in love."

"Honestly, I'm not sure if that's even true," Jacob said. "I know that we could definitely imprint even if we're in love with someone else..." his tone became sad as he said that, "but of course you know that too."

"Are you in love with a girl now?" Bella questioned, wondering if his sad tone had anything to do with the way he feels.

"He was channeling Sam's feelings," Edward informed her as Jacob rolled his eyes.

"Okay, sorry," Bella said, and then she bit her lip.

"Just ask your question, Bella," Jacob said impatiently (and Edward seemed to be just as curious as him, his usual expression on his face whenever he wonders what she is thinking).

"Okay," Bella smiled at him sheepishly. "I was just wondering... why you thought that it would be my cousin that I don't even have?"

"Oh," Jacob said, looking a little confused; _Okay so if imprinting is the problem... and it's not a cousin... or because she's in love with someone else... then who could it be?_

"Please answer the question, Jacob, I promise that we will answer your questions in a minute," Edward said a little impatient and annoyed.

 _Hm... whoever it is he's obviously not happy about it_ , Jacob thought fleetingly before looking back towards Bella. "I suppose it's because I would be really annoyed if someone imprinted on one of my sisters... well, only Rachel really, seeing as Rebecca is already married and happy..."

"Oh... then maybe you don't want to read the next book..." Bella started to say.

"You're not serious!" Jacob exclaimed. _Tell me she's joking!_

"I'm afraid she's not," Edward said looking amused and Jacob narrowed his eyes at him.

"But it's... um... it's with someone that hasn't changed yet... like Seth or Embry... right?" Jacob said looking at them pleadingly, but he could tell that this was a no. He wouldn't say that he liked the idea of either Seth or Embry imprinting on his sister, but seeing as Sam and Jared had already imprinted that left Rachel with... he groaned. "PAUL!"

"I'm sorry," Edward said, almost looking sorry, but his eyes were still hard. Then he started smirking as Jacob plotted of ways to make sure that his sister never got anywhere near Paul.

"I don't see what's so damn funny!" Jacob huffed.

"It's not funny... just ironic," Edward admitted. "But you might want to remember what you're thinking now in a minute..."

"Fine! Now that you thoroughly ruined my day, what do you have to say?" Jacob grumbled.

"I'm sorry... I shouldn't have said what I did about your sister," Bella sighed, "I didn't mean to work you up..."

"Don't worry about it, Bella... it's not like it's your fault," Jacob sighed and then grumbled, "It's our nature."

"I still could have..." Bella started to apologize again.

"Please, Bells, just tell me whatever it is you wanted to say," Jacob said.

"Well..." Bella said and then looked at Edward; she had no idea how to say this.

He sighed, pinched the bridge of his nose and said, "Carlisle believes, and I tend to agree with him, that the reason that your feelings are so strong towards Bella is because she is the closest thing to your imprint that exists at this moment."

Jacob furrowed his eyebrows together, trying to understand what Edward was saying. _What does he mean about closest to your imprint that exists... doesn't that mean that she has yet to be born? Hm... that would make sense and yet I'm not sure how that would even be possible. Maybe Bella's mom, Renee, is going to have a kid or something. Argh! Yeah Bella wouldn't really want me imprinting on her sister...especial since she would be a baby..._

Edward laughed at that shaking his head.

"Hey! That's mean you know!" Jacob growled at him, _who asked the stupid mind reader to listen to my thoughts..._

"Sorry," Edward said, "It's just that you are so close to the truth it's almost painful."

"Why don't you just tell me the truth then?" Jacob hissed.

"I suppose that it is impossible for you to guess," Edward said. "It's not like even we knew that she was possible before the books..."

"What... what are you talking about?" Jacob said, an impossible conclusion dawning on him.

"Her name is Renesmee," Bella answered softly, a smile playing on her lips as she said the name, "and she is... will be our daughter."

Jacob eyes widened at that. _No freaking way did I hear that right! Vampires can't have kids... Everyone knows that! But crap! They're serious... how could they freaking be serious!_

"We were just as shocked when we learned it was possible, too," Edward said. "We had no idea that this was possible."

"How?" Jacob managed to choke out.

"She's only half vampire... half human," Edward said.

"Ah... that... what?" Jacob said, seeming unable to form words.

"What is he trying to say?" Bella asked Edward.

"His thoughts are just as jumbled as his words," Edward frowned and then he heard clearing in his head. _What is she like?_ Edward's eyes softened completely and a smile like nothing that Jacob had ever seen before was now planted on his face.

"She is the most wonderful child that was ever born," Edward started and he started listing everything he could about the daughter he had never really met yet.

"Wow!" Jacob said when he finished. "Just... wow!"

"I know, I was amazed at first too," Bella smiled.

"And you didn't want me to know this..." Jacob said slowly.

"Because we weren't sure how we felt about you imprinting on her at such a young age," Bella answered his unfinished statement. "I'm still not sure... but I thought you should know."

"Why?" Jacob questioned. "Why are you telling me now?"

"Because Edward heard how confused you are about your feelings," Bella said. "I don't like to see or hear about you suffering."

"You don't like to see anyone suffering," Jacob corrected.

"That might be true, but it's especially hard to watch my friend suffer," Bella said. "How do you feel about this?"

"Confused," was Jacob's immediate answer. Then he looked thoughtful as he added, "part of me feels excited... I have an idea what it's like to imprint on someone from the other guys, but I know it's different... stronger when you actually are the one imprinting.

"Another part of me is a little worried about this. I don't particularly want to imprint on a baby... a child... And I know that you don't want that either... that's why you didn't tell me right?"

"Part of it," they answered together.

"It was really hard for me especially because well... I had to transform right after she was born and I didn't get to know her first two days and you'd already imprinted on her..."

Jacob made a face at that, "Yeah... I can see why you wouldn't want that."

"But you still want to meet her," Edward said, it wasn't a question of course.

"After your description of her, I doubt anyone wouldn't want to meet her," Jacob pointed out. "But I don't really want to out step my boundaries... but I really do want to see her..."

"We just made you more confused than ever, didn't we?" Edward sighed and chuckled at the same time.

"Yeah, you definitely did that," Jacob sighed. "But I'm still glad you told me... It's nice to understand what I've been feeling." _Still, I've got a lot to think about now... how am I supposed to deal with this information anyway? I probably should talk to Sam... but hell, it's not like he's going to have any advice for this..._

"Actually we were thinking that it would be beneficial to you if you actually read the last book," Edward said. "It probably would help you understand things better..."

"But just to warn you, there's a part of the book that's from your point of view," Bella added.

"Really?" Jacob was stunned, _well that should be fun._ "Bella... um... are we still friends?"

"Of course, Jake," Bella said in the ' _I can't believe you have to ask that_ ' voice. "Nothing changes that, not even me becoming a vampire."

"That's good to know," Jacob chuckled. "But I really was asking if I was still able to drop by now that we all know that I'm not going to be falling in love with you."

"Sure, Jake, you can come whenever you want," Bella chuckled.

"Oh... Jacob, one more thing," Edward said. "We know that you are going to share your thoughts with the other wolves, I just want to caution you not to do that at first... there are some things in this book that I'm not sure your pack brothers will like at first."

"Great," Jacob grumbled.

"Just remember that Renesmee is not a monster no matter what _anyone_ thinks," Edward said, his eyes looked a little pained when he said that. "And... I wouldn't mind if you make it clear to your pack that Bella would not survive the pregnancy if she remained human, and seeing that she will give birth to your imprint that it would be... nice if you would officially let us turn her..."

"I'll see what I can do," Jacob sighed. "But I think it would be best if I asked Sam for a few nights off duty until I finished this book and get my thoughts in order... I don't want to start up any trouble. Especially not since Sam is starting to understand you better."

"I would appreciate that," Edward smiled and Jacob left.

O

Things went by as they normally did the next week, at least as normal as they could be with Bella stuck at home all the time. It had now been a month since the accident and she was starting to get extremely bored with not being able to do anything. She was finally well enough to go back to school. She had been keeping up with her homework over the last few weeks, but she couldn't help but worry that she would be behind when she got back to school. Though she definitely liked the private tutoring she got from Edward. Still, seeing as winter break was starting next week, it wasn't like she was going to be going there for very long anyway.

Jacob showed up at Bella's house on Saturday morning with plenty of news and looking pretty happy. He said that after reading the book he was able to talk with not only his pack brothers, but also the council. They all agreed to Edward's request, though obviously reluctantly, that Bella could be turned if, and only if, she gave birth to a child. Jacob even informed them (seeming a little reluctant himself) that it would be allowed if the child wasn't his imprint after all.

"They seemed to think that things might have changed, but that you should not have to pay for that," Jacob said. "It was clear that Renesmee was an innocent and they believed that any child born from you would be and they wouldn't deny Bella the chance to keep existing because of that. I don't think it hurt that you're such a mild mannered vampire from the beginning!" he added chuckling.

"I'll give you mild mannered," Bella nearly growled as she glared at Jacob.

"Did they say anything else of importance?" Edward questioned.

"Not really," Jacob said. "But Dad seemed to think as long as Bella and Renesmee aren't threatened so much I wouldn't be so... overbearing in concerns over Renesmee."

"Do you agree?" Edward asked.

"I want to, but I don't really know," Jacob sighed. "Reading these books makes me want to meet Renesmee more than ever, but I'm willing to wait a few months... even years... to get to meet her."

"We'll think of something, Jake," Bella said.

 **A/N: Well, I hope you like that chapter. I wasn't really expecting this conversation to go on for this long... I was thinking about adding something on at the end of this, but I think it's better that this is just a standalone chapter. Anyway, the next chapter will start the next turn in the story line that I've come up with.**

 **Oh and I just want to say that I do read every review that I get, I'm just not really the best at responding to them. However, my point in saying this now is that I like the questions about the plot line I've been getting... it's interesting seeing what you think is going to happen, but there is no way that I'm going to answer them. I really don't want to give anything away.**


	30. An Unexpected Visitor

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty

An Unexpected Visitor

It was a completely different experience having Christmas at Charlie's than it was at her mom's. It was odd seeing how excited Charlie was about this, and she wondered if he was always like this or if it was caused by her being there. Charlie told her that he usually worked all day during Christmas and gave the other guys the time off but this year he wasn't planning on going in until four in the afternoon.

Bella was kind of happy about the season, which was aided by the fact that she could finally move about the room without Edward looking like she was about to break, and she was looking forward to making Christmas dinner (lunch, whatever) for them. She asked Charlie if it was all right if Edward came or if he would prefer it to be just the two of them and he said that he had just expected Edward to be there and then subtly hinted that he wouldn't mind if Alice was there too. Bella chuckled at the hint and said that she was sure she could arrange that.

The actual dinner went smoothly and she was really happy that she had this nice Christmas with her dad. It was the first one that she ever remembered having and she knew she would cherish the memory for a long time. After dinner was served Charlie went off to work and Bella went to the Cullens. She was going to be staying at their place since Charlie was going to get home late. He was happy that she had somewhere to go.

"You know it was a year ago to this day that we started reading about you," Edward said as they sat on the couch and the rest of the family was talking to one another around the room. The house was magnificently decorated for the holiday. It almost felt as if she was in a holiday card.

"That's right, it was," Emmett commented with a chuckle, "that was the best Christmas present we've ever gotten."

"I couldn't agree with you more," Edward chuckled. "I got to hear about my Bella..."

"I've been wondering... did you fall in love with me right away?" Bella questioned him, but it was Alice that answered.

"Of course he did, he just didn't realize it for a long time," Alice chuckled.

"Yeah, he was really protective of you from the beginning. He'd growl when I teased about you..." Emmett laughed. "It was really hilarious to watch."

"Whatever," Edward chuckled. "I still think I like this Christmas better," he added holding Bella close to him. "The reality is so much better than the book."

"You've got that right, it's much better seeing the blushing Bella than it is to imagine it," Emmett laughed as Bella tried, and failed, not to blush.

"I think we're all glad you're actually here, and the fact that it's quite easy for us to make you blush is only part of the reason," Jasper said, teasing Bella slightly, but his smile was so genuine that she couldn't help but smile back at him. "You have no idea how much you have changed the whole atmosphere of this house..."

Bella was really starting to blush then and Jasper let the subject drop feeling her discomfort, but sent a wave of gratitude towards her with a smile.

"Speaking of blushing... I think it's time you open your present that we all got you," Emmett said grinning madly.

"Um... I'm not going to like it, am I," Bella said a little afraid of his grin.

"Probably not," Edward chuckled. "But there's nothing you can do about this now, we've got it for you and we'll take no arguments."

"Fine... let me have it," Bella groaned.

"You'll have to come to the garage," Alice said in an excited voice.

"Argh," Bella groaned, she had a very good idea of what she was going to find there. Still she got up and most of the Cullens followed her, and sure enough when she got to the garage there it was, with a bow on top. "Don't tell me this is that missile proof car..."

"Sorry, Love, but I really don't like lying to you," Edward chuckled.

"You don't actually expect me to drive this thing," Bella groaned, causing everyone to chuckle.

"Oh come on, Bella, don't be like that, we've all put hard work into this," Edward said, barely concealing his smile.

"As if, I'm the only one that did any work on the car," Rosalie said.

"Trust me, Bella, my babe has got this engine working at one hundred and ten percent," Emmett smirked.

"Um... thanks," Bella said, not wanting to be rude.

"But you still don't want to drive it," Rosalie chuckled, "Don't worry, I didn't expect you to."

"And you don't really have to worry about that anyway, because I'm going to be driving you most places," Edward said. "It's my hope that you never have to drive again... but just in case, I really want you to have this car."

Bella sighed, "Fine."

The rest of the holiday season seemed to pass by quickly and it felt like no time that school was starting again. It really felt good going back to school, like somehow everything was back to the way it was supposed to be. Her human friends greeted her back with a lot more enthusiasm than she would have liked. She was bright red most of the first day because of all the attention she got. She had to talk to all her teachers so she could get caught up with all of her tests and other things she missed. Edward was by her side during this because he had missed just as many classes as she did (some teachers wouldn't except his excuses and refused to let him make them up but most seemed to allow this).

O

It was late in the day and Jacob was walking home from school when he heard his friends calling his name. He felt guilty that he hadn't been able to talk with them as he normally had, there was so much about his life that he wasn't able to talk to them about... he didn't want to drag them into the wolf thing if he could help it.

He had planned on running away as soon as he got into the forest as they had been trying to corner him for a while now and he didn't have anything to say to them that would make a difference, but he stopped short. There was a scent in the forest that he had never come across before but he knew what caused it; the sickening sweet smell was impossible to deny. He looked around trying to see if he could see anyone around him.

"Hey, Jake!" Embry said, seeming to be relieved that his friend had finally stopped for him, but that vanished as soon as he saw Jacob's face.

"Get out of here now!" Jacob growled, turning to glare at them.

"Jake... we just wanted..." Quil said looking taken aback from Jacob's fierceness.

"I don't want to talk!" Jacob said, praying his friends would just listen to him. They would be safe... or at least a lot safer if they were out in the open. He turned his head wildly and looked through the forest, only this time his eye met someone else. The red eyes peered out from behind a tree far away from where he and his friends were standing. Jacob looked closer at what clearly was a vampire, presumably one that was hunting; at least it seemed that way since it was crouched in the tree. The sandy haired bloodsucker stood as soon as Jacob noticed him and then turned to run away.

Jacob practically growled and moved to follow him but Quil grabbed his shoulder.

"What the hell was that thing," Embry said, a shiver seemed to be going down his spine and Jacob turned to look at his two friends. Their expressions were tense and their faces seemed harder than he'd seen before and Jacob feared what might have just happened to them.

"Let's get out of here," Jacob gritted his teeth, and he pulled his friends out of the forest and quickly told them that he would talk to them later about everything that's been going on with him... and he feared that he was going to have to be a lot more honest than he wanted to be... and then he ran away from them.

As soon as he knew he was out of their sight he transformed and hearing that Sam was there, quickly told him about everything that had happened and they both ran to the spot where the vampire had been so they could pick up its trail.

 _You should warn the Cullens about this_ , Sam thought as they got closer to Forks. They had been given permission to cross the line in an emergency like this for no one wanted any innocent to get hurt. _If we're involved they might not know something's wrong..._

 _Or this could be one of their dear old man eating friends_ , Paul thought bitterly but Jacob was already turning back, and as soon as he could he called Alice (for he knew that Edward was hunting right now and wouldn't be close enough to be on the scene).

"Hello," Alice said.

"Alice, there's a vampire here. We don't know if you've seen him or not but we're just warning you," Jacob said. "We're tracking him and his scent seems to be leading towards Forks..."

"No... I haven't seen anything," Alice grumbled and he could tell that she was upset about their involvement. "I'm going to go over to Bella's and make sure she's okay..." she continued to say and then she hissed.

"What? What did you see?" Jacob said worried.

"Nothing! It's blocked!" Alice said and Jacob cursed.

There was no more conversation after that, they were both running towards Bella's, afraid of what might be going on there.

O

Time seemed to go by in a flash filled with happy memories and shared moments. She was sitting in her room remembering the date Edward took her on for the anniversary of their first meeting. He knew better than to take her to a fancy dinner or shower her with gifts. He just took her to their meadow at first, the time of year was all wrong, it was not quite as beautiful as it could be but that place was so special to her that she didn't care about that at all. After that Edward had taken them to a nice private beach where they enjoyed watching the sun sink into the ocean.

She sighed as she remembered the ending of that perfect day and she was starting to wish that Edward was here with her. He had gone hunting earlier that day and he wasn't back yet. Even though he was gone right now, she couldn't help but smile as she remembered the night, for she realized then that there was definitely one good thing about her accident... Edward was in more control of himself than ever and he was much more willing to be close to her.

She suddenly felt a chill go down her spine as she felt as if she was being watched. She slowly turned to her window and her heart pounded in her chest, because there was someone that she didn't know sitting on her windowsill. He was smiling at her in what she assumed was meant to be a kind manner, but all she could notice was his red eyes and pale complexion. His sandy hair was long and was tied back from his face.

"Hello," he said in a cheerful voice and when she made no move to speak and seemed to clearly be panicking he added, "don't worry... I'm not here to hurt you..."

Bella had to bite back the scream that came to her throat, knowing all it would do is make the situation worse. All the scream would do was make Charlie come up to check on her and then...

Bella didn't move as she tried to calm herself down, knowing that he would react to her fear...

"I probably shouldn't have come here first," the man frowned, "I truly didn't mean to scare you... I was just so curious..."

"Curious..." Bella found herself saying, as her thoughts went to Edward, praying that he would come soon.

"Yes... this small town seems to have many curiosities," the man said and then sighed. "You seem to know what I am..."

Bella nodded her head, not sure what else to do.

"Then I also hope you can tell from the color of my eyes that I'm not... thirsty at the moment," he added, clearly attempting to calm her down and Bella did find herself relax slightly, but her heart still pounded in her chest and her eyes were still wide. The man sighed again, "I know it's not as reassuring as if I had yellow eyes... but I assure you that I never hunt until the thirst has become unbearable."

"You know Carlisle's family?" Bella questioned, again feeling more at ease at this but the tension in her body wouldn't go away.

"Yes, I've met them once before... rather intriguing group of vampires," the man smiled. "I came across their scent a few days ago and started heading this way... I wasn't really sure if I was going to see them or not, but I found another scent that was interesting and I was curious about what it was.

"Of course I was side tracked again when I caught your scent... I must say that you have one of the most appealing scents I've ever come across," the man added looking at Bella with a very curious expression and she gulped, taking a step away from him. "Sorry... that was rude of me... and that is not why I'm here."

"Why...?" Bella tried to ask.

"You're scent was so interwoven with theirs, especially Edward's..." the man explained. "The scent was so strong in this house that I almost expected Edward to be here... I was just curious... it's odd, even for this coven... um... family... to be this close to a human."

"I'm Edward's mate," Bella answered softly and she almost kicked herself for not saying this earlier for that was probably the only protection she had against a vampire coming in her room... they would of course not be afraid of her but they wouldn't want to mess with another vampire's mate (at least if they were smart they wouldn't want that).

"I see," the man smiled before it faltered slightly. "It's probably bad that I came here... I should have followed the other trail. I'm sure Edward wouldn't appreciate me being here terrifying his mate."

"No... I don't think he would," Bella agreed and the man turned to go but paused at the window. "I was just wondering... who are you?"

"Oh, how rude of me not to introduce myself," the man said, "I'm Garrett."

"Oh," Bella said completely taken off guard by that and not sure how she should feel. She had liked Garrett from the books... and they were all hoping they could talk to him and tell him to go to Denali so he could meet Kate... but that didn't make him less terrifying being in here with her alone while she was still human.

Garrett raised his eyebrow at her and she realized that he noticed that she recognized the name and was curious about her reaction to him.

"The Cullens talk a lot about you... especially Emmett..." Bella said weakly not sure what else to say but Garrett seemed to be less suspicious now. "And I'm Bella."

"It's nice to meet you," Garrett said.

Bella was sure he was going to disappear any moment but he just kept sitting there. She started to get really panicked again. Why was he still here? Didn't he say that he was going to leave?

"I just have one more question for you," Garrett said and she nodded her head. "Are you friends with these wolves, or would it be okay if I fought them?"

"What?" Bella asked actually walking closer to the vampire but she had to so she could see what he was talking about. Sure enough, she was just able to make out the black shape of a wolf, in the night. The only detail that was clear was the eyes, that where narrowed dangerously. "Oh crap."

"So they are your friends," Garrett sighed, he had moved to the other side of the room when she had gone to the window. As confident as he was at not actually hurting a human when he wasn't thirsty, her scent was rather more powerful than he thought and actually being close to her was making his resolve weaver. "This is not good... I really must be leaving..."

"You never should have... Garrett?" Alice was suddenly in Bella's room, she was crouched in a fighting stance that didn't loosen after recognizing the vampire but her eyes weren't as cold.

"Alice," Garrett said as he too was crouched, his defensive instincts taking over. "I'm not here to cause trouble..."

"I really don't think he was..." Bella said from behind Alice who was obvious standing in front of her for protection.

"Of course you don't," Alice said sounding exasperated. Bella wouldn't know what a dangerous situation was if it bit her. No matter how controlled Garrett might be, a split second lapse and something terrible could happen. "I suggest that we leave here now..."

"Of course... those wolves aren't going to cause us any trouble are they?" Garrett questioned with an almost hopeful expression that Bella had seen in Emmett's expression many times (he wouldn't have minded the fight).

"If you're with me, they will leave us alone," Alice answered standing up from her crouch at the same time that Garrett did.

"All right then," Garrett said and the next thing Bella knew both Garrett and Alice were gone. She wasn't alone for long. Jacob was soon climbing through her window and his expression was murderous.

"What was that about?" he demanded.

"I'm not sure really," Bella feeling good that at least one of her super natural friends was with her. "But that was Garrett..."

"You mean the bloodsucker that is supposed to head out to Denali..." Jacob hissed.

"That would be him," Bella said looking at Jacob closely. "Are you okay?"

"Why do you ask?" Jacob grumbled.

"Because you're acting like he's the biggest monster in the world and you know that if everything works out the way it's supposed to he probably will become a vegetarian," Bella said.

"He came in here... he could have killed you and..." Jacob snarled his hands were starting to shake.

"Calm down, Jake," Bella said grabbing his hand and he relaxed into her grip.

"It's Quil and Embry... they were there when I saw him..." Jacob explained in a softer tone. "They looked odd afterward..."

Bella gasped, understanding what he was trying to say.

"I don't know for sure... but it's possible that they're going to transform now..." Jacob bowed his head. "Being that close to a vampire... it had to affect their genes..."

"Oh... I'm so sorry, Jake," Bella sighed and leaned in to give him a comforting hug.

O

"It seems like I can't leave you alone for a second," Edward said and Bella got out of her bed and ran to hug him.

"Oh, Edward," she said, she had needed to feel his arms around her for a long time.

"I guess that's my cue to leave," Jacob said. He and Bella had been talking since Alice had left with Garrett. He could tell that Bella didn't really want to be alone, which was good, because he wasn't about to leave her when he knew a vampire was in the town.

"Thank you... for coming here... and for calling Alice," Edward said to Jacob, who just nodded his head before he left.

"So you know what happened," Bella said biting her lip.

"Of course," Edward said and as he led them back to the bed. She could feel how reluctant he was to release her. She didn't know what it was, for his arms where just as steady as ever, and he always wanted to hold her, but she could feel his panic in every move he made. "Imagine my surprise when I got home with my brothers and I sensed an extra person in our house... and that would have been fine, for he was talking with Carlisle, Esme, Rosalie and Alice rather nicely. As soon as he saw me though, he thought of you..."

Edward shuddered and Bella pressed her lips against his chest to try and calm him down.

"I think the only thing that prevented me from ripping him from limb to limb was the fact that his thoughts were benign towards you... though Emmett's grip on my shoulder might have helped too," Edward said his voice tense.

"I'm glad you didn't do that," Bella said and Edward looked down at her.

"I suppose I am too... but I can't stand to think of him actually being in here," he finished with a growl.

"Is he still in town?" Bella asked.

"No... Emmett and Rosalie decided to take him straight to Denali," Edward said. "They seemed to think that was safest for him..." he added with a dark look.

"Well, look at it this way, at least this time things went better than they did in the book," Bella said obviously trying to cheer him up but he just narrowed his eyes further. "You know... seeing as he wasn't actually trying to kill me..."

"That's not helping, Bella!" Edward growled. "Don't you realize how much danger you were in today?!"

"Yes," Bella said, and her lips quivered. "I was terrified..."

"Sh..." Edward said soothingly, "I'm sorry... I didn't mean to..."

"But at least now I know it's over," Bella said relaxing, "and you're here to comfort me."

"I never should have let you be alone," Edward groaned. "I thought you would be safe in your home... if you didn't go out and meet danger, but you can't even do that without being put in danger."

"Sorry," Bella sighed.

"It's okay..." Edward sighed too.

"Are you worrying about what's going to come next?" Bella asked after a long and tense silence.

"Yeah," Edward said smiling at the fact that she knew that's what he was thinking. "You had a point... this wasn't as bad as it could have been... but I can't help but think about what is going to be coming at us next... What other trials do we have to face?"

"I've been thinking about that all day," Bella admitted. "But I decided there's no point in worrying about that... whatever is going to come, will come..."

"That seems to be more optimistic than I would have expected from you," Edward pointed out. "And here I thought you liked to worry about every little thing."

"I'm with you," Bella answered. "As long as we're together, I know we will get through this."

"You're right," Edward smiled and kissed the top of her head. "Now get some sleep, you've had an exciting night."

"Goodnight, Edward," Bella sighed into his chest and he started humming her lullaby and soon she was asleep.


	31. The Proposal

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-One

The Proposal

Edward was really a mess after everything that happened. He didn't like the fact that things kept on coming up, not has they had in the book, but yet he still felt as if things where set against him. He was wondering if some kind of Southern army of Newborns weren't going to come after them for some reason. That seemed like the next likely thing to happen if things were going to follow a certain pattern. However, he couldn't count on that. He had to be prepared for everything... for something that he couldn't foresee coming. There were millions of dangers that could come their way and he shouldn't limit his thoughts like this.

"Edward... I'm okay..." Bella said and it seemed like something that she would say so much in this moment that Edward almost believed she had woken up and noticed his expression. But she was still sleeping, probably dreaming of him worrying over her. He had been so protective of her for the week since Garrett's unannounced visit that she had to say these words at least ten times a day. He could tell she was getting tired of all this but she didn't say anything, she just let him worry in peace and he was thankful for that.

When she slept was always the worst for him now, for he couldn't block his thoughts when he didn't have to try so much not to show exactly how worried he was. It was now midway through February and they had until September, another seven months until they wanted Bella to become a vampire. Normally that time would seem like a blink of an eye to him... nothing to worry about. But now, he was anxious for each day to end so that she could become as unbreakable as he was and there would be many things that he wouldn't have to worry about anymore.

Part of him wished that he could just turn Bella into a vampire now so she could be safe, but this wouldn't work. There was too much that they would lose if he were to do that, and even the thought of trying to have a baby now and losing all hope that it would be the little girl that they had read about was unbearable. So that's what he had been stuck on for the last three nights, wishing Bella could be invincible... needing her to stay human.

"Edward," Bella said, and this time he knew she was awake. He looked at her and her eyebrows where furrowed and she was looking at him with concern. "What's the matter? What have you been thinking about?"

"About what's going to be coming at us next," Edward answered truthfully. "I'm terrified that something is going to happen to you."

"I know," Bella sighed. "But you have to relax..."

"As soon as I relax something terrible is going to happen," Edward shook his head. "Bella I left you for one day to go hunting and all this chaos happened. How am I supposed to relax when I know something else is going to happen?"

"You don't know that," Bella said.

"But I do, I can feel it," Edward said.

"Because you're so tense right now," Bella rolled her eyes. "Besides, not everything that happened in the books was bad. Maybe something good is going to come our way next. You don't know."

"I suppose," Edward said unconvinced.

"Edward I don't want to be worried about what if's for the rest of my human life," Bella sighed. "I promise that I will do whatever you think is best to keep me safe, but you have to promise me that you'll stop moping around all the time."

"I don't know if I can do that, but I'll try," Edward said smiling at her.

"Well good," Bella said and then she got out of bed, "and now it's time for me to get ready for the day."

O

"I just thought of something that you could do about that," Esme said. Edward and Bella were at the Cullens' house and Edward was in the dining room. Bella was in the living room talking to Alice.

"Really," Edward said, looking at Esme with a raised eyebrow, for she was trying her hardest not to think about whatever it was that she was going to say.

Esme smiled at him. "And it's something you can do a lot better than you did in the book!"

"Okay?" Edward said still trying to figure out what she was thinking about as she beamed at him.

"You can propose to Bella!" Esme practically squealed and then she said in a slightly sterner voice. "And you do it properly this time!"

"I'm not sure..." Edward started to say, he was much too worried to actually think of coming up with something.

"Come on, Edward, she said you can ask her now... and it will give you something positive to think about," Esme said. "I know you've been worried since the accident and what happened with Garrett has got you even tenser than ever."

"Well, why shouldn't I be tense? I know something else is going to come..." Edward started to say.

"No, you don't, Edward," Esme said trying to be firm but her voice shook and Edward could tell that she was worried about that too.

"Yes, I do... I can feel it!" Edward said letting more of his worry show than he normally would, especially to Esme (knowing how much she liked to worry herself), but he had been trying to control this so much in front of Bella that he needed to show his feeling right now.

"And this is exactly the reason why you should propose to Bella... take some time to think of the right way to do it," Esme said. "Edward, if there is something coming then it's going to come whether you think about it or not... why not spend the time in between happy?"

Edward didn't say anything. He didn't know what to say to that.

 _Just think about it, okay?_ Esme thought as they rejoined Bella and Alice in the living room. The first thing he saw when he walked into the room was his Bella laughing sweetly and he couldn't help thinking about what Esme had just said to him. He knew that his mind must have been firm in that second for he saw the beginning of a vision from Alice, though his sister had shut him out almost immediately.

"Alice... Are you okay?" Bella questioned, realizing that she had a vision, and obviously worried about whatever it was that she saw.

"Oh, I'm better than all right," Alice beamed at her and though Bella was a little afraid of what the smile meant, she knew it had to be good news at the very least. _At least you're going to do things the proper way this time, Edward. I'm so excited!_

"Whatever," Edward said in a low voice that Bella didn't have a hope of hearing, though judging by her expression, she realized the two of them were talking. "I haven't made up my mind yet..."

 _Sure you haven't Edward_ , Alice thought, _That's why_ _you're trying to figure out what I_ _saw right now!_

Edward scowled at that, knowing she had a point but he still wasn't sure when he had decided to do this. Of course the truth was he'd been wanting to do this since he meet his Bella in person.

 _That really didn't take a long time, I knew you wanted to do this,_ Esme thought smugly and then started a conversation with Bella.

O

Edward had been going over what he should do for the last five days. He would spend so much of his time thinking about the proper way to propose to Bella that his fear took a back seat. Of course it was still there; he wasn't sure if it was ever going to go away even when she was a vampire like him, but at least the fear was more manageable now. Every day at lunch he would try to see if Alice would give him any more details of how he was actually going to do this, but his sister was keeping him completely blocked. A smug expression on her face as she would always think, _sorry,_ _Edward, you have to do this on your own._

He would always frown at this thought as Alice would go back to translating some kind of song or something like that. Why couldn't she just show him? It's not like it wouldn't have been his thoughts for the start, he just wouldn't have to spend all this time coming up with this in the first place. But finally on Friday morning he thought of something that he knew was the right thing (not only because Alice was beaming at him during lunch) but because he could feel that it was the right way to doing this.

"Edward, are you all right?" Bella asked as they walked towards the Volvo after school had let out.

"I'm fine," Edward said smiling at her and Bella lost all conscious thought as she struggled to remember how to breathe.

"I'm never going to get used to that," Bella sighed when he looked away and she could breathe normally again.

"And I never want you to," Edward chuckled.

Bella smiled too, but she was looking back at Edward and she was sure that he was lying about being okay. She had noticed this whole week that he had been acting oddly and not in the way he had been acting before this. He wasn't overprotective and worried about her safety. It was something else that he seemed to be worrying about. She tried to ask Alice about this, but Edward, of course, had always been by her side so it was impossible and anytime she would ask Edward he would say that he was fine.

"Do you mind if we go out tonight?" Edward asked in what he hoped to be a casual voice.

"That's fine," Bella answered, as she looked at Edward suspiciously.

Edward sighed, realizing that she was onto him... or at least he knew that she knew he was up to something. But he wasn't about let that stop him.

"So where are we going?" Bella questioned.

"I thought we would go to _La Bella Italia_ first," Edward said smiling.

"Okay," Bella said looking at him more suspiciously than ever, trying to think of what he was up to.

"Just relax, Bella," Edward chuckled and she smiled at him, knowing that she was caught as much as he was.

After calling Charlie to tell him that she was going out and that his dinner was leftover lasagna, and telling him how to heat it, she and Edward made their way to Port Angeles. Edward was obviously nervous the whole drive down for he didn't talk much and instead of their normal comfortable silences, the car ride was filled with tension. Bella was starting to get worried about what he was going to say by the time they got to the restaurant.

Edward was starting to wish that he had chosen to do this differently, when he noticed how nervous Bella had gotten. He also wished that he could just ask her now so that the tension he was feeling would vanish, but he knew that she wouldn't enjoy a public proposal and he really didn't want that either. He didn't understand why he was this nervous. He knew what her answer was going to be. He knew that he was going to do this in a way that he wouldn't be ashamed to tell his child when she asked. But he couldn't help but wonder how Bella was going to feel about this. He was sure she was going to say yes... but he wasn't sure she was going to be excited about this.

Still, as they walked into the restaurant he took a deep breath and made sure that he was going to act as normally as he possibly could during this dinner. And that's what he did, and he was glad to see that the worry in Bella's eyes slowly slipped away as her meal came (some revolting smelling dish that she said was really good).

"So what else do you have planned tonight?" Bella questioned after her meal was finished.

"What makes you think I have anything else planned?" Edward questioned.

"Because you said we would be going here first," Bella shrugged.

"Did anyone ever tell you that you were too observant for you own good?" Edward said sternly, but the amusement in his eyes made her smile at him.

"I think I've heard that, or maybe read it somewhere," she chuckled.

"The next place I'm going to take you is a surprise," Edward said and Bella sighed. He chuckled as he said, "I know you don't like surprises but I promise you'll like this."

"Okay," Bella said. It was only a short time after that that they were leaving the restaurant and Edward was driving them in a direction Bella had never been before. The drive didn't last long, it seemed to take barely five minutes before they were getting out and Edward was telling her that they would be running the rest of the way.

"Okay, close your eyes Bella," Edward said as he slowed down and she did was she was told. She could feel him lay her down on a blanket and knew he sat next to her. "Okay, open your eyes."

When she did, she found she was looking at a small pond with fire flies moving along the water making small patterns. They were so bright that they lit up the pond's surroundings and she could see the violet flowers that bloomed around the pond.

"It's beautiful," Bella smiled at him.

Edward smiled, definitely pleased about that, and then he looked up and she followed his movements.

"It's a clear night!" Bella said smiling even more than before. This was only the third night that she was able to see the stars during her stay in Forks. She loved the stars, the constellations and though she loved seeing the full moon she was happy that it was only a sliver tonight because it made the stars brighter.

"Yes, I thought you might like this," Edward smiled again. "I know that you said that you enjoyed looking at the stars in Phoenix, but I think you have to admit that on nights like this, it's better to be here."

"Definitely," Bella smiled. "Though I have gone into the desert a few times because my mom wanted to see the meteor showers and that was amazing."

"Hm," Edward sighed.

"Thank you, Edward, for bringing me here," Bella smiled at him.

Edward didn't answer her; he just looked at her intently. Now was the moment, he was going to have to ask her now. The nerves that he had pushed aside during dinner came back to him tenfold as he tried to form the words. Bella's eyebrows furrowed together and she lifted one of her hands and touched his cheeks in a soothing way and Edward closed his eyes to enjoy the contact. He enjoyed this touch for a moment, letting it fill him with courage. That she would know that he was worried and wordlessly comfort him filled his heart was joy and love. Every day he was surprised to find that he was filled with more and more love for this beautiful woman in front of him.

"Bella," he started softly, his intense golden eyes boring into her and he could practically feel her heartbeat speed up (he could definitely hear it). "The moment that I heard about you my life started. I was able to see a future for myself that was beyond just existing. The moment that I first saw you, I felt as if my heart had started beating again after nearly ninety years of being dormant. The moment that I learned that you already knew my secret, that you knew it and still accepted me for what I was, I knew the future I envisioned for us would come true..."

Bella's eyes widened at this; her heart was pounding in her chest and tears were coming to her eyes. She realized, of course, what was coming next and she felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest.

"Bella," Edward said, getting on one knee, though because she was lying down he was looking down not up at her, his mother's ring in his hand. "You are the woman I've been looking for my whole life. You are the reason why I can believe there is a point to my continual existence on this earth, you are the one that makes me believe that I'm not the monster that I've always feared I was, because I can't see how else I could ever had deserved someone as beautiful, truly beautiful as you are."

Edward took a deep breath and still looking straight into Bella's eyes he said, "Isabella Marie Swan, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Bella couldn't answer right way, as she was reeling from everything that Edward had just said to her. Tears were now falling freely down her cheek as she looked into his sincere eyes. She continued not saying anything until she felt Edward's anxiousness; his eyes were starting to look panicked. She placed her hands on either side of his face and he instantly relaxed as she gave him a weak smile.

"Edward, I might not have lived as long as you or had to go through as much to get to this point, but the moment that you walked into my life I've known what I wanted," Bella said, trying to keep her voice from quivering from the overwhelming emotions she was feeling in this moment. "I never thought I would be this happy hearing those words coming from you... of course I'd love to be your wife..."

She didn't get any further than that because Edward captured her mouth in a searing kiss. She could feel his relief, love, excitement, lust and every other emotion he was feeling, and she knew her feelings were just the same as his...

It was a long time later that they finally broke apart and Bella leaned on Edward's chest looking up at the stars. She could feel Edward's hand playing with the ring that was now on her finger. He had agreed that she didn't have to wear it until after school had finished. She really didn't want all the gawking that she would get by the others, but he had given her a chain so she could wear it as a necklace until that time. At the moment though, she knew that he loved the fact that she was wearing it, that while they were by this pond, looking up at the stars, that they were happily engaged and they didn't have to worry about anything but themselves.

 **A/N: Okay, I hope that went off well. I don't really know how to do** **things like this very well. I was planning on adding** **the graduation at the end, but I felt that would have ruined the atmosphere of this chapter, so I'll just have to start the next chapter there. And another** **thing that I had to say is that I sort of implied that Alice was going to make an even better wedding than the one in the book, but I have no idea how to do that. This won't be for another few chapters, but if anyone has suggestions for that I would be happy to hear any. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and I think the next one should be exciting.**


	32. Graduation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Two

Graduation

As soon as Bella and Edward got to the Cullens' house after their exciting night, they were congratulated by everyone there and to Bella's horror Alice seemed to have decorations for this event. She was just glad that Emmett was still in Denali because he would have been teasing her all night for the blush that she was wearing. Still, she found that she liked how excited everyone seemed to be about this news and she was happy that for once the worry was out of not only Edward's eyes, but all of the Cullens as they celebrated their engagement.

It was spring break and Bella thought that this would be the perfect time to use the gift that Esme and Carlisle had given her for her last birthday. She and Edward went to visit her mom in Florida. It was a much better spring break than she had in the books as she was able to see her mom and relax even though Renee was able to see how close she and Edward were. She couldn't lie to her mom, especially knowing that she had practically figured it out, and on the last day of the vacation she told her mom that they were engaged.

Renee reacted slightly more shocked than she had in the book, but in the end she couldn't deny how much Edward and Bella loved each other and she was happy that her daughter was able to find that. Besides, she knew that Bella was mature enough to make this work far better than she was herself.

When they got back to Forks Bella tried to concentrate on her studies and with all the extra work she had to do because of the accident, plus the normal demands of the class she found that most of her time was spent on that. The only supernatural problem she had during that time was that Quil and Embry did in fact turn into wolves, but seeing as they liked the change, especially since they were able to be real friends with Jacob again she felt as if this was a good thing. However, Jacob was still a little pissed that because of Garrett's curiosity his friends had to go through this. Not to mention there was now a big discussion about what they should do about the Quil and Claire relationship. No one was sure if he should meet her at such a young age or not, and not being able to tell her parents (because they weren't to know about the wolves) it made it even more difficult for them to decide on what they should do.

Still, most of Bella's time was spent studying and whenever she had a spare moment she was with Edward. Bella had even allowed Edward to take her to prom again, because though he said he didn't care, she could tell that he really wanted to go. He had just been so stressed the last semester that she thought it would be nice for him to have a few hours to relax. After that there was another advance in their relationship. Though they had firmly decided that they weren't going to have sex until after they're married (Edward and his values) that didn't mean they couldn't progress farther than they had in the book (which they were both happy to explore).

When it came to graduation though, Alice insisted on having a huge party still, and no matter what Bella tried to say, she couldn't talk the little vampire out of it.

"You know, I don't even think this party is for me," Bella huffed on the night before graduation. She had passed all her classes with even better grades than Edward, as he couldn't make up all of his classes. Jasper had teased Edward about being the first one of them to get not only a B but to get three. Edward just rolled his eyes; it was clearly a good thing that Emmett still hadn't come home because he probably could have annoyed Edward more than anyone else.

"Then who is this party for?" Edward questioned.

"For all the kids at Forks," Bella said. "They're the ones that are going be entertained by all this... and they've wanted to see what the Cullens' house is like."

"I suppose you have a point, but I'm pretty sure this party is still for you," Edward chuckled and Bella rolled her eyes. "Are you nervous about graduating?"

"Not really," Bella said.

"Are you worried about what's going to happen in the future," Edward said. "I mean, becoming a vampire and mother and all of that?"

"A little," Bella admitted. "But I also can't wait for it to happen. And what about you, Edward, are you nervous about that?"

"No... I'm actually counting down the moments until then," Edward sighed, pulling her closer.

"You're still worried about some kind of danger coming for us," Bella sighed.

"Yes," he admitted. "I hate saying this, because I really do want to you experience things as a human, and it feels like wanting you to become a vampire quicker is wrong. But I'm terrified that if we just wait around something terrible is going to happen to you."

Bella sat up and stroked his face to try and get him to calm down, when he closed his eyes with slight smile she asked, "How long as this been bothering you?"

"Since Garrett came," Edward admitted. "Well, actually it was since the car accident, but the other incident made it almost unbearable..."

"That was months ago, why is this the first time I heard of this?" Bella questioned.

"Because I have more control over that fear now," Edward said. "If I said something before... I think it would only have tempted me more and this isn't something I wanted to happen."

"Does it help if I say that I thought of this too?" Bella asked leaning down again.

"Not really," Edward sighed and then started humming her lullaby.

"Are you trying to make me sleep?" Bella grumbled, he knew she almost always went to sleep when he started humming that.

"Alice would kill me if I kept you up all night and you didn't look perfect for your graduation," Edward chuckled and Bella sighed, letting herself drift off to sleep.

O

The next day Bella got ready and Charlie stared at her with pride. Just like in the books, he had insisted he be the one to drive her to the graduation, though he was happy to drive Bella's new car instead of the police cruiser. Edward came with them of course, and Charlie happily chatted about the car as they drove to the school. However, as soon as they got out of the car, he turned to Bella more seriously so he could express his pride with her in words.

"I'm so proud of you, kid," Charlie said clumsily, looking rather awkward. "Getting such good grades even after..." he paused there shuddering, "what happened... getting into Dartmouth. You did good, kid."

"Dad," Bella said blushing.

"I don't say this enough, Bells," Charlie sighed, "but I'm really glad you decided to come here, I'm happy that I got to..."

"You don't need to say anything for me to know this," Bella interrupted him with a smile. "I'm happy I decided to come here too."

"Well, that probably had something to do with him," Charlie said looking at Edward, who was talking toward Ben and Angela to give them some privacy.

"He's part of the reason," Bella admitted knowing that it was a big part of the reason that she was happy she moved to Fork, but that didn't make what she was going to say untrue. "But I really enjoyed living with you, Dad..."

"Okay, that's enough," Charlie said, turning red, but looking pleased. "You better go before you're late."

"Okay," Bella smiled at him before joining Edward and the others and heading off to the back stage. Bella found the ceremony to be nice, and of course she blushed when it was her turn to walk across the stage. Not only Charlie, Billy and Jacob cheered for her, but also all of the Cullens, including Emmett. He was making quite the scene and she could see the smirk on his face as she blushed more than before. After the ceremony and before she could leave with her dad to go to a restaurant, she was stopped by most of the Cullens.

"So when did you get back?" Bella tried to grumble after Emmett had given her a bear hug, but she was finding it to difficult not to smile at him when he was grinning like that.

"This morning. You didn't think that we would miss your graduation, did you, little sister?" Emmett chuckled. "I'm a little disappointed you didn't trip though..."

"You know it's things like that that make me wish you hadn't come," Bella huffed.

"Oh, you know you missed me," Emmett was still chuckling.

"Of course I did, big brother," Bella smiled at him and she hugged him again before she moved on to the other people who were congratulating her. Soon after that she found herself with Charlie and Edward at the Lodge, the restaurant that Charlie was fond of and not long after that they were at the Cullens' house, getting ready for the party.

The party wasn't as bad as she thought it was going to be, though she didn't really like all the attention she was getting. She was able to have fun with her friends. Jacob was even there, along with the other wolves who were starting to come around more to Cullens, though it was obvious that some of them would never more than tolerate them.

O

It was about a week after the party that Bella decided it was time to tell Charlie about her engagement to Edward. He took the news pretty well, though he seemed to think it would have been better if they could have waited a few years before doing this. He wasn't really surprised. He was annoyed when he found out that Bella had already told Renee, but besides grumbling about it under his breath he didn't mention it out loud.

Alice was now spending all of her time prepared for the wedding; so much so that Bella was afraid of what she had planned for this event. However, before she had too much time to do anything, something happened that put everything else on hold.

Alice's eyes went wide in horror as she saw them coming, three pairs of red eyes that seemed to be finding pleasure in the terror they were causing just by being there. She couldn't see more than that, but she knew it was bad enough.

"Alice?" Esme asked as they were working on the dress for Bella, who was insisting that it be the same one in the book, though she allowed Alice to make all other decision concerning the wedding. "What's the matter?"

"They're coming," Alice groaned her voice was so full of misery that Jasper, who had been beating Emmett in a game, was by her side a moment later, so he could calm her down.

"Who's coming?" Esme asked, but judging by her expression she knew who Alice was talking about.

"The Volturi!" Alice answered. "Jane, Felix and Demetri to be more precise."

"When?" Emmett asked, a second later he was in the room with them, and the next Carlisle and Rosalie were too.

"I'm not sure when, but it's soon," Alice sighed. "Em, could you call Edward and tell him to bring Bella here... we really need to decide what to do about this quickly."

"Right," Emmett said, and did as Alice said and twenty minutes later everyone was gathered around the dining room table looking serious.

"What's going on?" Bella asked as her eyes were on Edward and saw that he was looking angry and scared (not to mention the grip he had on her) about whatever it was that everyone was thinking about.

"It's the Volturi... they're coming," Alice explained.

"Why?" Edward asked this time. "They don't have any reason to came after us this time... we haven't done anything."

"I don't know," Alice frowned, but before she could say anything else Carlisle's phone rang.

"It's Tanya," he said before he answered the call apprehensively. All the vampires could hear exactly what was being said but Bella was growing more and more wary as Carlisle frowned. "I understand... thanks for the call."

"What happened?" Bella asked when Carlisle put the phone down.

"It appears that Volturi had gone to Denali," Carlisle answered seeming to be thoughtful. "Tanya mentioned something about them investigating James and when they found out that a group of vampires had chased and killed him they were curious about what had happened."

"And now they're going to come here," Bella groaned.

"Yes, but this shouldn't be that bad," Jasper said thoughtfully. "It doesn't sound like they should have anything against us... and we didn't break any law..."

"That doesn't really matter," Edward said, his voice was tense and he was obviously trying to control it.

"I know it would have been better if they never came anywhere near us," Jasper calmly, and it was obvious that he was trying to pass some of his calm onto Edward, but it didn't seem to be working. "But even you have to admit..."

"What are we going to do?" Edward cut him off. He didn't really want to discuss his feelings on this issue, not when he was facing one of his biggest fears.

"Maybe you and Bella should leave," Carlisle suggested. "I don't really like the idea of her being near any of the Volturi..."

"I don't think that's going to work," Jasper frowned. "You heard what Garrett said, and he's quite right. Bella's scent is all over this place, and Edward's is always near it. What if the Volturi decided to be curious about the scent...?"

Edward growled loudly.

"Sorry, Edward," Jasper sighed, he had obviously not thought of what would have happen if Edward and Bella where alone against the three vampires.

"Maybe we can send Bella away with all the mutts, it's about time that they did something," Rosalie said.

"I can't believe that you would actually trust them with her safety," Emmett said smiling at her. "I think you're starting to like them."

Rosalie's response to that was a growl and glare that only made Emmett chuckle.

"This is serious," Edward hissed at them. "And I don't like the idea of Bella being alone with the wolves..."

"I don't think they would want to leave either, knowing that the some of the Volturi would be here," Bella added. "And I would appreciate it if you would all stop talking about me as if I wasn't in the room."

"Sorry," Carlisle and Rosalie said.

"We're going to have to warn the wolves about the Volturi coming," Alice frowned. "And try to tell them to refrain from transforming if at all possible. It would only mean more trouble for all of us if the wolves are brought into this fight."

"Yeah, that's probably true," Jasper agreed. "Let's just hope that the Volturi had fed before coming to this town, because I don't think the wolves would stand by and let them hunt anywhere near here."

"No, they wouldn't," Edward said, frowning because he wouldn't have minded one bit if the wolves killed these vampires, but he knew that would only cause more trouble for them down the line. They were hoping to avoid a war with the Volturi if they could help it.

"So what are we going to do?" Bella asked.

"Well, it doesn't look like we can run," Edward sighed. "Demetri would find us if we even try, so..."

"It would be best if you stay here with us," Emmett smirked. "That way we could protect you if things turn bad."

"Emmett, we are not going to be fighting them," Esme said sternly.

"I think what you meant to say is we are not going to be starting a fight," Emmett corrected. "I know we don't want that, but that doesn't mean that we shouldn't be prepared for one."

"I doubt it would actually come to a fight," Jasper said seriously. "We outnumber them two to one. However, you're right Emmett, that doesn't mean we shouldn't be ready for one."

"So that's it, we're just going to wait here for them to come," Bella groaned. "And you don't know when that will be."

"Sorry," Alice said.

"It's the best that we can do," Jasper sighed. "Running away won't do us any favors."

"Don't worry, Bella, everything is going to be okay," Esme said sweetly.

Bella nodded her head, but she didn't think anything was going to keep her from worrying now. It was okay before to be optimistic because she didn't know what or if anything was going to come for them, but knowing that they were faced with their greatest threat again, she felt numb with worry. She wasn't sure how she did it, but Alice had talked Charlie into allowing Bella to stay over, for the Cullens felt safer having Bella in the house for the time being.

 **A/N: Okay, so I didn't think this story would be complete without some trouble from the Volturi. I just wanted to say that when I first thought of this part of the story (which was about the time that I had decided to do this story) I thought that Edward wouldn't have told Bella about killing James and Victoria and there would have been a fight between the two of them. However, after getting some reviews from people on the chapters where Bella read Twilight, I realized that Edward wouldn't have let Bella worry about that so she already knew this fact. The next thing I wanted to say is that the next chapter probably won't resolve the conflict here because I'm planning on it focusing mostly on the Volturi and what their** **reasons for coming to Forks. Anyway, hope you liked this chapter.**


	33. Volturi

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Three

Volturi

Aro was frowning as he listened to yet another report about a vampire in America that was calling a little too much attention to himself. Now he wouldn't have really cared if this was the first time that he heard about something like this, but seeing as it was the fifth, and they all seemed to be describing the same vampire, he was starting to get impatient. Nothing was too serious, there were no talks about mythical creatures rising up, or exhibits of superhuman strength, but it was only a matter of time before something like that happened. Aro had seen it time and time again: Vampires that took an extreme thrill in the hunt, continually trying to push the game further until they made a scene that the humans couldn't explain. No, it was time to try and put a stop to this.

Seeing as no crimes were actually broken yet, he had sent one of his contract trackers, Frank, out to give this vampire a warning that if he continued his ways much longer the Volturi would have to put a stop to him. It was more than a year later that Aro thought of this issue again, it's not that he had forgotten about this, but it just wasn't important enough to keep track of. However, he wanted to use this Frank again, but was having trouble reaching him. He asked Demetri to locate Frank and when he couldn't Aro knew the tracker had been killed. Realizing what Frank's last mission was, he asked Demetri to try and find where the vampire that had been causing all the trouble was, but again Demetri was unable to do that.

Not being sure if that was because Demetri didn't know who this vampire was or not, he decided to have Demetri track down the vampire in person. Not wanting to lose his precious and favorite tracker, he sent Felix with him. Aro wasn't too pleased about this situation, but he couldn't allow anyone under his command be killed without reacting forcefully to it.

Demetri and Felix left immediately going to the last known location of where this troublesome vampire was known to be. By questioning the vampires in Georgia, who were all very helpful after Felix explained to them who they were, they discovered that the vampire they were looking for was named James and he was traveling with two other vampires named Victoria and Laurent. Demetri tried again to sense James, now knowing who he was looking for, but nothing came to him. Grimacing, he continued to track the old fashioned way, almost happy about the opportunity to hone his skills again.

It took them about to a week to retrace the steps that Frank had made on his attempt to find James and to discover the final resting place of the tracker. There were a few vampires in New Mexico who had witnessed the nondescript vampire, James, the red-hair woman, Victoria, and the motorcycle riding, leather clad tracker, Frank, go off together. A few hours later there was smoke that could only be caused by another vampire being burned and James and Victoria had joined another male vampire before running out of town.

"You don't seem to be taking the news of Frank's untimely demise too hard," Felix pointed out as they continued to run west, towards their next clue. He was smiling though, now that they had discovered that Frank was indeed dead they would get to destroy all those involved in his death, and he was looking forward to fighting this James guy.

"He was a good tracker," Demetri said. "Probably the best after me..."

"Ah, I get it, you were worried that he might take your place," Felix chuckled and Demetri rolled his eyes.

"No one can take my place," he said firmly. "And is that really something you should be laughing at? You're the one that's more likely to be replaced seeing as you don't even have any powers."

"I would crush anyone that tries to take my place!" Felix snarled.

"Don't you mean you have crushed everyone that tried to take your place?" Demetri chuckled this time. "How many has it be so far... ten?"

"Fifteen," Felix said smugly. "I've killed a few when I was on missions like this that most of the guys don't know about... just upstart nobodies that think they have what it takes to beat me."

"Well, if we do find this James guy, I suppose I could allow you to kill him so you can increase your number," Demetri said, but he was frowning. He was sure that he should have sensed James by now after getting to know him over the past week of tracking him.

Things got even weirder than they already were when they got to Arizona, for the only thing they got from all of the vampires they came across was that James and his coven ran across this state and were being pursued by four other vampires that seemed to be gaining on them the farther north they got.

Finally when they reached Oregon they heard rumors of smoke coming from the mountains, again reporting that it could only have been caused by vampires. Questioning a little farther they discovered that the person they were tracking was never seen again and Demetri was sure he had been killed.

"Well that just sucks," Felix grumbled. "What are we supposed to do now?"

"I don't know," Demetri frowned. "We have discovered what Aro has wanted us to, but I don't really like that someone else got there before us."

"So you think we should find these other guys?" Felix asked, his smile plainly showing he was all for that idea.

"Yes, but I'll have to call Aro," Demetri said.

"Hm... I say we just go and try to find them," Felix said. "This is part of our mission..."

"No, it's not. We have discovered what has happened to James and he has been destroyed. I would like to know more about this, but Aro might not think this is important, and he will know it if we continue without his permission. I doubt he would be pleased."

"Fine, fine, call him," Felix grumbled. He knew that Demetri was right, but he was worried that Aro would tell them to come home before he was actually able to do anything.

Demetri did call Aro and after telling him everything he had learned and expressing his wish to finish his investigation on this matter he waited for Aro's decision. Aro deliberated on this for a whole day before he decided that he would have Jane meet the other two for extra support, not knowing who these four vampires where that had tracked and killed James, and not liking that they had done the Volturi's job.

During the day and half time they were waiting for Jane to get there, Demetri thought of the best lead that they could follow. He sensed that one of the vampires that was part of James's coven was still alive. The male, Laurent, would probably be best place to start. Though he could have tracked the vampires that had attacked James, he thought it was probably best that they learned as much as they could about these vampires before they faced them.

When Jane got there, she didn't seem to think the precaution was necessary, but she accepted Demetri's decision and soon the three of them were running towards Alaska and were there by the end of the day. They were somewhat surprised to find their target was chatting happily with a few vampires that seemed to have golden eyes.

"Those are vampires, aren't they?" Felix asked frowning as they hung back to examine their target as they like to do in situations like this.

"Yeah, I've seen a vampire with golden eyes before," Demetri said. "It was in Volterra, he said that they were gold because he hunted animals instead of humans."

Felix snorted, "And you call them vampires..."

"It's a lifestyle choice I guess," Demetri shrugged. "I don't know why any of them would bother but if they choose to torture themselves it's up to them."

"It looks like the guy we've been tracking is trying to join them, his eyes are amber," Felix observed.

"Who cares about this?" Jane said impatiently. "I don't see any danger down there, we should question them."

"I'm all for that," Felix smirked, he could tell by Jane's tone just how she was planning on getting information out of him. "Should we go in fighting?"

Demetri sighed, seeing that he was going to be outnumbered in his decision and said, "Fine, but Felix, remember that we want him to talk so don't kill him."

"You got it," Felix chuckled.

Felix ran straight for his prey, who didn't even know what was happening until he was punched out of the chair that he was sitting on. The man named Laurent smashed into the wall before crumbling to the floor. Felix pounced on him before he could even get up, kicking him to make him stay down.

The strawberry blonde haired woman, however, was able to prepare herself and blocked the strike from Demetri. He just smiled, glad for the challenge but he didn't get to do anything before he heard a familiar voice.

"Stop, please!" the voice said and Demetri and Jane turned to look at him, though Felix didn't seem to notice and continuing holding Laurent by the neck and was squeezing it painfully.

"Eleazar?" Demetri said, smiling at his old friend. "Felix, stop."

"What?" Felix groaned, throwing down Laurent.

"What are you doing here, my friend?" Demetri asked grasping Eleazar's arm, and the other vampire did the same, though somewhat reluctantly.

"This is my home," Eleazar said. "And my f... coven."

"I see," Jane sighed, looking annoyed. Then she nodded her head towards Eleazar and added, "It's nice to see you again."

"And you," Eleazar nodded his head in return. They might never have been friends (for Eleazar hated seeing anyone suffer too much), but they had respected each other throughout the years they were in the Volturi together. "And what are you doing here, my friend?" he continued looking at Demetri. They on the other hand were often paired together, looking for vampires that might be useful to the Volturi, and had formed a friendship with one another.

"We were looking for him actually," Demetri said nodding his head towards Laurent.

"What is his crime?" Eleazar grimaced, knowing that it had to be something big if Demetri and Jane were there. And the new guy, Felix, didn't seem like a lightweight either, though Eleazar knew he had no extra powers.

"Eleazar!" said a dark haired woman, looking afraid, and stopped when she saw the three new vampires in the room, being able to recognize one as understanding dawned on her features.

"Carmen, it is nice to see you again," Demetri said slightly stiffly, for he knew she was the reason that his friend had left and apparently joined the animal eaters judging by their golden eyes.

"Demetri," Carmen said smiling uncomfortably at him as another blonde female and a sandy haired male came into the room.

"We were hunting when I caught your scent," Eleazar explained. "I was afraid of what might have happened so I came here as quickly as I could."

"That's understandable," Demetri smiled. "Our reputation definitely precedes us."

"It was probably for the best I was about to burn your friend," Jane sighed, looking bored and impatient.

"Irina," Eleazar said, "and this is Carmen, Tanya, Kate, Garret, and I assume you know Laurent," he added pointing at each of the others in turn.

"Yes," Demetri said smiling at the others and Felix rolled his eyes and Jane continued to look bored.

"You were going to tell me what Laurent had done," Eleazar sighed after everyone was introduced. He was serious again, standing slightly in front of Carmen as if he wasn't sure what was going to happen but he was going to make sure that she was safe.

"We suspect that he has done nothing wrong, but we do need to ask him a few questions," Demetri said.

"I see," Eleazar said uncomfortably. "And what are the questions about?"

"It involves a vampire named James," Demetri said.

"We would like to have some privacy," Jane added.

"Do you mind if I stay?" Eleazar asked and Demetri and Jane looked at one another.

"Fine, my friend, but you know that we must get answers," Demetri said after a slight indifferent nod by Jane. Eleazar sighed, but nodded his head.

He then turned to his family and said, "It would be best if you give us some privacy."

"But I..."

"Irina, please, trust me," Eleazar said and though Irina looked terrified she nodded her head. When the others were gone, Felix lifted the terrified looking Laurent and forcefully put him into a seat.

"Now first of all," Demetri said calmly, his eyes boring into Laurent's, "tell us what you know about a man named Frank!"

Laurent's look of confusion only lasted a minute before he was balled up in pain with Jane smirking down at him. "Stop please!" he cried, but Jane keep going for another few minutes.

"I advise you to answer their questions," Eleazar said grimacing, wishing he could have done more than this. "Jane will know when you are lying and there is nothing I can do to help you..."

"I don't know anyone named Frank," Laurent said shaking his head. "I swear."

"You were part of James's coven when he was killed by James," Demetri said softly. "Are you telling me that he didn't even tell you about him?"

"I'm not always with James... and he never mentions names," Laurent said.

"Frank rode a bike and always wore a leather jacket," Felix supplied.

Laurent's eyes flickered at that but he didn't say anything. Again he was hit my Jane's ability and again he begged her to stop.

"Please, my friend, tell them what you know," Eleazar said, hating to watch his friend getting tortured.

Jane sighed, she would have enjoyed this a lot more if Eleazar wasn't here. She would have just tortured this man until he was willing to beg for death and then she would have all the answers she needed from him.

"James mentioned that a tracker found him," Laurent said hastily, "tried to tell him that he should stop hunting the way he did, but James didn't like that. He decided to just kill the tracker..."

"That sounds like a reasonable plan," Felix chuckled. "Too bad the tracker was working for the Volturi. We don't really like our people getting killed and all."

Laurent gulped at that, "I had no idea, you have to believe me."

Jane shot an annoyed look at Eleazar; normally that would be the time that she would use her abilities again.

"Sorry," Eleazar said noticing the look, and she rolled her eyes.

"We do believe you. There were witnesses stating that you weren't with the other two during this time," Demetri sighed and Felix groaned, he too would normally have the pleasure of hitting this guy before they told him this.

Laurent let out a relieved breath.

"Now tell us about the vampires that chased you across part of the country," Demetri said.

Laurent's eyes widened, and looked at Eleazar, not sure what to say. Again, for his hesitation he got shocked by Jane, and she kept him in pain for far longer than the other time.

"Stop!" Eleazar cried out.

"Why did he look at you?" Jane asked, lifting the curse off of the bawling Laurent.

Eleazar sighed, looking thoughtful for a few seconds before he answered, "because I know who you are talking about and Laurent is afraid of what might happen if he told you this."

"Are they really that strong?" Felix asked, smiling.

"You misunderstood me," Eleazar said, not wanting to answer that question. "They are very good friends of mine. I don't want anything to happen to them."

"Who are they?" Jane asked.

"No," Demetri said before Eleazar could answer and Jane looked at him annoyed. "I want to hear what happened in the mountains first. Laurent, tell us what happened!"

"Very well, we can do this your way," Jane said, knowing that Demetri liked hearing things in order.

"Tell them," Eleazar said heavily. He didn't like where any of this was going, but there was nothing he could do. He knew that his friends had broken no rules and he hoped that by hearing this that the Volturi would realize that. Still, he was afraid of what was going to happen.

"James was about to tell us about the next hunt that he was planning on undertaking when Victoria sensed a danger that was coming after us..." Laurent started to say.

"Sensed danger?" Demetri repeated.

"As far as I can tell from what Laurent has told me about her, Victoria had a gift that allowed her to sense threatening situations that far surpassed that of any other vampire," Eleazar said.

"I see, carry on, Laurent," Demetri said.

"With Victoria's warning we started running away," Laurent said. "But whatever the danger was, it continued to follow us. James had just about enough of running by the end of the day and seeing as Victoria sensed the danger had lessened somewhat, they decided to stop and wait for whatever it was that was hunting us.

"It turned out to be a tall blonde vampire with hundreds of scars and a small woman with short spiky hair. Back in the thirties the woman had apparently been one of James's victims... she was the only one that had gotten away from him. James said that there was a vampire that was watching her that discovered that James was after her so he turned her in order to save her. James killed the other vampire for taking away his pray, but left the girl alone."

"He left a newborn vampire on its own!" Demetri scowled. "Doesn't he know how dangerous that is... how much damage she could have caused... she could have made a scene without anyone there to teach her our ways?"

"Alice did not cause any trouble, I assure you," Eleazar said.

Demetri nodded his head and then motioned Laurent to continue speaking.

"Well, the scarred guy..."

"Jasper," Eleazar pointed out and Demetri rolled his eyes.

"Fine, Jasper, was Alice's mate, and he did not like what James had put her through when she was human," Laurent said. "So he, Alice and two other males, Edward and Emmett, came with him to hunt down James..."

"Why did they only start to track down James now? It had been over seventy years?" Jane asked shrewdly.

"Alice didn't have any memory of her human life after being transformed," Eleazar informed them.

"Then..." Demetri started to say, more confused than ever.

"She said she had a vision of the vampire that was the reason she had changed," Laurent said and Eleazar frowned, he didn't really want the other to know about Alice's visions.

"Vision?" Jane questioned.

"She can see the future," Eleazar supplied.

"That must be handy," Felix chuckled.

"Continue, Laurent," Demetri ordered.

"There isn't much left to say," Laurent said. "After Jasper had fought James, Edward had come to fight Victoria and Emmett fought with me. Jasper and Edward won their fights and killed the other two."

"And how did you survive when the other didn't?" Jane questioned.

"He wasn't involved in Alice's transformation," Eleazar said. "The others do not like to destroy life if they can help it and seeing as Laurent had given himself up, they didn't kill him."

"But they brought you here," Jane said, she was finding this whole thing to be a little odd.

"Yes, I was a little curious about them and their yellow eyes," Laurent said. "But... well let's just say I didn't want to be anywhere near Jasper. He was a Southerner before and..."

"We get it," Felix said looking at Laurent with disgust. This man was a weakling and a coward in his eyes. "So you came here and conformed to their ways it looks like..."

"I hadn't planned on it," Laurent said, and then his face lightened up automatically, "but I found a reason to want to try this lifestyle. It wasn't easy for me to comply, though. It has taken me over a year to learn the control that I need, but yes, I think I've gotten better..."

"Stop already," Jane growled, just about ready to cause him pain again.

"So, Eleazar, who are these guys that hunted the others?" Demetri asked.

"They are more vampires like myself, that have chosen to hunt animals instead of humans," Eleazar said and all three of the Volturi's looked at him with frowns, shaking their heads at his choice. "They are a part of Carlisle's coven..."

"Carlisle," Demetri said, recognizing the name.

"Who's that?" Felix said.

"The vampire I told you about earlier today," Demetri said. "Aro liked him because Carlisle was almost as curious about things as himself. But seeing as they didn't share the same dietary plans, Carlisle went to America to find more people like himself."

"Whatever," Felix said, bored with the explanation.

"There are two more women a part of their..." Eleazar started to say.

"Seven vampires all together... that's another big coven," Jane frowned.

"It's part of the diet... it makes it easier for us to get along," Eleazar shrugged. "As far as I know they only hunted this guy down because of what he did to Alice. Carlisle doesn't believe in violence, or harming other sentient beings."

"Then why would he allow them to hunt this guy in the first place?" Felix asked.

"I don't think anyone could have stopped Jasper from going after James," Laurent said with a shudder, remembering the look in Jasper's eyes that day.

"And the others wouldn't let him fight alone," Eleazar said. "Keeping one another safe is important to us."

"I see," Demetri nodded his head. "Well, thanks for your help my friend."

"You're welcome," Eleazar frowned.

"You realize that we're going to have to talk with them too," Demetri replied to Eleazar's look. "It is our duty to get the full truth of this situation and we need to talk to them in order to do that. I assure you that we are not going to do anything to them, but we have to question them at the very least."

"I understand," Eleazar tried to keep himself from groaning.

"I think this goes without saying, but if I have to chase them around the country, I will be very upset," Jane said looking pointedly at Eleazar, who nodded his head.

"It really was good to see you again," Demetri smiled as the other two started running away. "I wish it was under better circumstances though."

"So do I," Eleazar said and soon Demetri was gone again.

"Do you think he will warn them that we are coming?" Felix asked as soon as Demetri had joined them.

"It doesn't matter if what he said was true about that girl being able to see the future," Jane said.

"And yes, I do think he will warn them," Demetri sighed, who hoped for his friend's sake that the others didn't try to run. Jane would not be forgiving about that.

"Do you buy the story that we just heard?" Jane then questioned. "It seemed a little fishy to me."

"Yeah, I felt the same way," Demetri said, "but I feel as if they were telling the truth as they knew it."

"Whatever," Jane rolled her eyes, obviously not under the same opinion. "Just point us to the others and let's get out of here."

"Okay," Demetri said, concentrating on the scarred Southerner that had killed James.


	34. Confrontation

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Four

Confrontation

It had been a week since Alice had her vision and they got a call from the Denali's that the Volturi were coming. It was five days since they knew that the Volturi were in the area, not exactly in the town but near enough so they could observe the Cullens. Everyone was tense about this, wishing that they would just come out and talk to them already but the Volturi seemed to be content to just wait.

"Why are they doing this?" Emmett hissed, his patience was running really thin now, and he was practically begging Carlisle (and Edward) to just let them go to the Volturi. "They have to know that we've realized they're here by now... Why don't they just come and talk to us already?"

"They're probably worried about being outnumbered," Jasper said thoughtfully.

"That certainly sounds like something the Volturi would think," Alice said, "but something tells me it's more than that."

"I hope they aren't curious about the wolf scent that's surrounding Forks and La Push," Esme fretted.

"I'm sure they're not," Edward said, but he couldn't really be sure. He didn't get anywhere near enough to be able to read their minds, not wanting to leave Bella for a second when such a danger was threatening them. "But it is a good thing that the wolves haven't been transforming for this last week..."

"That might be so, but Jacob's close call the other day shows that they won't be able to control themselves much longer if nothing happens soon," Bella said. "Jake said that Quil and Embry are especially having problems with this since they were so new and the Volturi presence is affecting everyone..."

"They must be able to sense the desire they have to hunt," Carlisle mused, he always wondered how the wolves' instinct worked, but even he wasn't in the mood to try to get excited about a theory right now. He was too worried about his family.

"I'm just worried what the Volturi's presence will do to the boys in La Push," Esme sighed, thinking about how Garrett's presence had affected Quil and Embry. Carlisle frowned at that too, knowing that his wife had a point and he hated that it was their fault that the wolves had to deal with this.

"And tell me again why we can't just hunt and kill the three Volturi that are here?" Emmett asked. "It wouldn't really be that much of a challenge."

"We do not want to start a war, Emmett," Carlisle said sternly. "It is not something that I would ever allow."

"You do know that by the end of this, we probably will be making an enemy of them anyway?" Jasper pointed out. "The sheer number of mature vampires in our family is enough to guarantee that."

"I know," Carlisle sighed. "But I still hope to avoid fighting if I can help it. I also don't think that Aro would be as interested in, and hopefully not as fearful, of our family as he was in the book. Tanya had said that they know about Alice's ability to see the future but that is it, they don't know about Jasper, Edward and especially not Bella."

"You know that Alice's ability was the one that he was looking forward to seeing the most, right?" Edward pointed out.

 _Of course I do_ , Carlisle thought and then said, "But we would still pose less of a threat to them when there is only one vampire with an ability as opposed to half our family with one."

"That's nice and all, but what if they already thought that we were a danger and decided to call the rest of the Volturi here and that's what they're waiting for?" Emmett questioned.

"I would have seen that," Alice rolled her eyes.

"Oh, right," Emmett sighed in defeat. _I really can't stand this, what are they waiting for... why don't they just come already?_

"Perhaps they are waiting for us to relax," Edward said thoughtfully. "They must have noticed that we're pretty much in a strong position..."

"Hm... you might have a point," Jasper agreed. "They probably were already wary about the fact that we outnumbered them, but add to it that we're on our land... they must be really nervous about that."

"Maybe we should send someone over to talk to them," Emmett suggested with a smirk.

"No," Edward and Esme said at the same time, neither one trusting the Volturi enough to risk the safety of anyone.

"Fine, then we'll just wait here like chumps," Emmett pouted.

O

"And why are we still watching them?" Felix asked for what felt like the millionth time.

"Because something isn't right here," Demetri answered.

"I swear, if you ask that one more time, you will be sorry," Jane said glaring at him in annoyance. She wasn't exactly pleased with just sitting here either, but she did see Demetri's point. There was just something strange about this town. For one thing, there was a scent present here that was quite offensive and made only more annoying because she couldn't figure out where it was coming from. The worst of it was that she couldn't really track the scent because there were so many different intercepting paths it made it difficult to know where it was coming from and because they were there because of the golden-eyed vampires she didn't pursue it. Still, that didn't stop her from coming up with the conclusion that it was some kind of animal that roamed around this town, perhaps this was why the strange vampires stayed here.

"It's been a week already, what more do you think you're going to find out by just watching them?" Felix was annoyed, but looking at Jane warily, hoping she wouldn't take offense to that.

"I just don't understand it," Demetri frowned. When they had first arrived, apart for the weird animal smell, they had discovered an exceptionally good human scent. This scent was almost always mixed with the scent of one of the vampires in particular, but sometimes there were the other vampire scents near it. The scent had faded after the first few days that they were here, though they could tell where it was now. "How could they actually have a human living with them?"

"You don't know the human is still alive," Felix pointed out.

"Yes I do," Demetri said, "whenever we get near the place the scent is still strong."

"I know," Felix said, licking his lips. "I really can't understand these golden-eyed freaks. The scent is driving me mad and I haven't even seen this human."

"Demetri, I don't think I can stand waiting much longer," Jane said impatiently. "We should just get going already."

Demetri sighed, "Fine, but I still don't like this... I feel as if we're missing something."

"Whatever," Felix said now smiling. "Do you think they'll let me take a bite out of the human..."

Demetri rolled his eyes and then started running towards the house they had been keeping an eye on for the last week.

O

"They're coming," Alice sighed looking worried. She hated that she couldn't see anything after the Volturi first arrived, knowing that no decisions had been made yet.

"Finally," Emmett said and Edward hissed at him.

"We're meeting them outside," Alice informed them, and no one argued as they all got up and went to the front yard to wait for the Volturi. Jasper, Alice (who Jasper insisted would be next to him) and Carlisle were standing in the front as Edward and Bella were behind them, Edward standing in front of her in a defensive stance. Esme was standing slightly behind Bella and Edward, looking wary as Emmett and Rosalie made up the rear.

It was only a few seconds after they got into place that the vampires could sense the Volturi and then quite suddenly they were standing a mere twenty feet from the Cullens.

"You look quite defensive," pointed out the biggest of the visiting vampires. He was smirking, his dark red eyes were fixed on Bella, who tried to stop herself from shivering with little success.

"Hmph," Emmett huffed, causing the big vampire to look at him, still smirking. Emmett hated that he was asked to stand in the back, but he agreed with Jasper that it was best to keep Bella surrounded.

"We have not come here to fight," the other man said, he wasn't quite as big as his friend but he was tough looking, obviously a seasoned fighter. He then turned to Carlisle and said, "It's nice to see you again, Aro sends his regards."

"It is nice to see you as well, Demetri," Carlisle said with a smile that looked natural, though of course he had forced it onto his face. "And I would like you to convey to Aro my regards as well."

Jane's sigh of annoyance prompted Demetri to get to the point.

"I'm sure you are aware of why we are here by now?" Demetri said, his eyes traveling unconsciously towards Bella. _I just don't get it, her scent is even more intoxicating_ _up close and yet it's clear that none of them have a desire to hurt her. These golden-eyes_ _truly are strange creatures._

Edward had to force himself not to react to Demetri's thoughts, which wasn't so difficult. No, it was Felix's thoughts that had him balling his fist, clenching his teeth together.

 _She's_ _rather good looking for a human, and I can smell her fear from here,_ Felix thought, his attention back on Bella completely. _Mouthwatering, truly mouthwatering. I hope they try something so I can_ _taste her..._

Edward felt Bella grab his cold hand and he didn't shake her off. He was still in a defensive crouch, but he didn't want to act rashly and holding her hand would prevent him from doing that. The contact had also stopped the growl that was building in his chest as he listened to Felix's thoughts.

"We were informed it had something to do with _James_ ," Jasper answered Demetri in a cold voice not faking the disgust he felt when he said the name. "But I don't see why you have come here, we have done nothing wrong."

"Not with regard to James, anyway," Jane said, her eyes traveling to Bella. _I really should punish them for this, but all in good time,_ she thought as Edward growled at both the thought and the look that Jane was giving Bella. Jane's lips twitched upward smirking at Edward. _Pathetic, he thinks he'll be able to defend her, this should be fun._

Bella tensed as she looked at Jane's smirk, feeling fear fill her. She half expected Edward to fall down in pain, and felt relieved when he didn't. Still, she knew she couldn't count on the fact that something like that wouldn't happen at some point, and dread filled her even more than before. That horrible girl was going to hurt her Edward, she knew it, and there was nothing she could do. She didn't have any control over the ability that was inside her, that would protect her from Jane's wrath. She closed her eyes in frustration at herself, hating that she would be useless to help. However, it was then that Emmett's words during their many practice sessions to see if she could manifest her abilities as a human came back to her. ' _You just have to let your anger_ _take over,_ _Bella_ ,' Emmett had repeated over and over again.

So that's what she did, she tried to let her anger take over as she looked at the smirk on Jane and Felix's faces. She tried to tell herself that they wanted to hurt her family. She tried to think about protecting Edward so that he would be able to destroy the Volturi if they even tried to hurt them. And mostly, she pushed out the fear that this was a futile exercise, because she was human and weak, there was no room to let her doubts take other. She had to fill her mind with red hot anger.

"We will get to that later," Demetri said, breaking Jane out of her thoughts. She shrugged; she could wait until Demetri got his information before she played with the vampires and their pet human.

Edward was barely able to keep himself from growling again, or more dangerous for them, from attacking Jane as he heard her thoughts.

"It is not normal behavior for one of our kind to hunt another across three states," Demetri said to Jasper. _Hm, this guy really does seem quite capable, not someone I would want to face in_ _normal circumstances, but being outnumbered like this he must be even more dangerous. He's obviously the most experienced_ _fighter here._ _Jane should incapacitate him first if things turn to a fight._

As Demetri made a signal to Jane to relay his thoughts, Edward was about to clear his throat to try to inform Jasper of this as well. However, before he could do anything, Edward saw the vision of Demetri attacking Jasper, who was kneeling in pain.

Alice thoughts were very angry and protective as she squeezed Jasper's hand in a way that made her point clear. Edward wondered, as he looked through Demetri's eyes, how Alice had the strength to not show her emotions after that vision, even with her decades of practice keeping her face straight while she had a vision.

"He once hunted my mate, I would hunt him across the world if I had to," Jasper said in a furious tone, his eyes showing his anger. Edward was actually rather pleased that this was completely true, for it made everything that Jasper said sound more believable.

"But she was human at the time," Felix said looking confused, his eyes again traveling to Bella, as if the two things were connected. "Wasn't his interference the reason why you two were able to meet in the first place?"

"He left her alone!" Jasper snapped and everyone looked at him, as his anger filled everyone else. Alice squeezed his hand, trying to make him control himself, the last thing they needed was for the Volturi to get angry, causing them to want to fight even more. Jasper took a deep breath, as he regained his sense of calm. As soon as he had, he started to send that emotion out, as he had been doing ever since the Volturi got there, but it was become difficult for him to do so.

"She had no memory of being human, no idea what she was," Jasper continued to speak; his voice was barely a whisper but his eyes conveyed the pain and fury he felt about this.

Esme sighed, she knew that he had taken this hard at the time, but she hadn't realized just how upset Jasper truly was about what had happened in Alice's past.

"She was alone and terrified," Jasper finished holding Alice closer to him as he kept his eyes on all of the Volturi. "It matters little that he hunted her as a human, or that he was part of the reason that I got to meet her! I cannot stand what she had to go through when she was a newborn because of him!"

"I see," Demetri said. _Hm, when he puts it like that it does sound like a good reason to hunt someone down. Still, I don't really understand how they knew that James was the one that instigated the girl's_ _transformation if she didn't remember anything._

"How did you even know it was him?" Felix blurted out what Demetri was thinking, causing the tracker to roll his eyes. He was going to ask that in a much more tactful way, but that's all ruined now.

"I was curious about my past," Alice was the one to answer that. "It was starting to annoy me that I didn't know anything, so I started trying to find out more about myself."

"And I bet your fortune telling skill came in handy then," Felix said and Demetri shot him a sharp look, obviously not pleased by the bigger vampire's comment.

"As a matter of a fact it did," Alice said. "I was able to find several things out, which eventually led me to James."

"And when you found him, you killed him," Demetri stated.

"We listened to what he had to say," Alice shrugged.

"We had already heard some of the things that had happened and were quite convinced that he would be better off dead," Jasper added coldly. "If you ask me, the world is a better place without him."

"You are right," Demetri agreed. "He was becoming much too aggressive for any of our good. He even had the audacity to kill one of our trackers, which Aro was quite displeased about upon hearing."

"Then why did you even come here if you're pleased that James was killed?" Emmett grumbled and Edward hissed. His brother really didn't have to ask every question that went through his head.

"We just wanted to talk to the people that did our job for us," Jane said in a sweet voice and Edward's eyes focused on her. He could tell that it was her turn to take over the conversation now. "It's not every day that we are made to feel useless."

"Well that was all that we have come here for," Demetri said, but contrary to what he was saying, his body seemed to tense. He too seemed to realize that Jane was going to take over and he was preparing himself for a confrontation.

"However, there is the small matter of the human that we need to discuss," Jane said coldly. "The fact that you chased a fellow vampire across the country may not have been illegal..."

"Though I would advise you not to do anything so dramatic again, for you aroused quite a lot of attention throughout our community," Demetri commented.

Jane looked at him coldly for interrupting her before she continued where she left off. "However, telling a human about us…is!"

"That's not strictly true," Carlisle said in a calm voice, not showing any of the fear he was feeling. "I believe there are a few humans in Volterra that know about vampires..."

"That is different," Jane said coldly. "They are under the belief that we will actually turn them into vampires. Not to mention they know what would happen to them if they even thought of breathing a word of this to anyone.

"I have heard plenty about you, Carlisle. You do not have the instincts necessary to deal with the problem if your human chose to tell your secret," Jane said, her voice was still cold, but her lips started to edge upward into a smile.

"She is my mate! I will not let anything happen to her!" Edward declared.

"You mated with a human!" Felix snorted, leering at Edward as he thought of just how mated they were. Edward had difficulty not glaring at Felix, or more likely attacking him for the filthy thoughts going through his head, but he couldn't take his eyes off Jane, she was the greater danger by far.

"That only proves my point more, you would not do anything to her if she were to tell anyone about vampires," Jane said smirking again.

Edward could feel Bella's grip on his hand shaking in fear as Jane's eyes focused on him. He heard Jane's thought a second before a burning sensation filled his insides, and he fell to the ground. He was in pain, that was for sure, but it wasn't nearly as bad as he had expected it to be. In fact he was sure that he would have been able to fight back if she were to draw nearer to him. He screamed though, keeping his intense pain filled eyes on Jane as her smirk grew.

 _That's right, scream like all the others,_ Jane's thoughts filled his head as he felt Bella kneel next to him.

"Edward!" she screamed, he could smell salt, knowing that she was crying now. "Stop it! Please!"

The rest of his family was thinking along the same lines, especially Esme, but they didn't say anything. They knew it would do little to sway Jane.

The pain stopped then as Jane looked at Bella again, _you're right,_ _little girl, you deserve to feel my wrath as well._

Edward squeezed Bella's hand painfully causing Bella to scream just at the right time to fool Jane to believe that she was the one causing the pain. Edward then wrapped Bella in his arms, she was still screaming, faking that she was in pain for the Volturi's benefit, as Edward muttered in a dread filled voice for Jane to stop, for her to at least torture him instead.

The rest of the Cullens growled in unison then as Felix and Demetri crouched.

"Bella doesn't pose any danger to us, stop this now!" Carlisle begged and Jane looked at him.

"You can't guarantee that," the sadistic vampire said.

"You have been here for the last week, you've checked out for yourself that none of the other humans around here know about vampires," Alice nearly growled.

"That doesn't mean that she won't tell in the future," Jane said. "This problem needs to be dealt with now."

"However, seeing as no real harm has been done, you could just transform her into a vampire now," Demetri said. "I don't understand why you haven't yet if she is your mate."

"Because we didn't want to cause a scene," Edward said, he was still on the ground holding Bella close to him, his eyes still on Jane. "It would have been suspicious if she just disappeared..."

"It happens all the time," Demetri said shrugging. "It's not like it would draw too much attention to you."

"Actually, that not entirely true," Carlisle said. "We live quite differently than you do, or I should say as most of our kind do. We are able to settle down in a home for several years without drawing attention to ourselves. If Bella would have disappeared, there was a chance that we might have been suspected, especially after all the time our family was seen around her."

"I see, you're not willing to transform her then," Demetri said. "That leaves us with only one thing to do..."

Again everyone tensed.

"Wait," Carlisle said hastily. "We didn't say that we weren't willing to transform her. We are just waiting for the best time to do so. Edward and Bella are planning on getting married soon, after which we are planning on making her a vampire."

"I still don't understand why you would wait," Felix said.

"Because this way the humans that Bella knows won't get suspicious, she will just simply faze them out of her life in a natural way," Carlisle said. "No one will know what has happened."

"That actually sounds reasonable," Demetri said.

"What?" Jane and Felix said.

Demetri's eyes flickered over to Jasper, and then to Edward and Emmett, _I don't like the thought of having to face so many at once, even with Jane and Felix here_ _to help. We can inform Aro of what we have learned_ _here and if he wants to do something different we will, but for now it would be best to get out of here._ "Seeing as the human is the mate of one of our kind and that they have plans to change her in the near future, I don't think we have anything else to say here."

"But..." Felix started to say, truly wanting to fight.

Jane looked around at the many vampires before her, she didn't like to admit this but she didn't like the odds against them that much herself. "Very well, but be warned that this is not over, we will want to hear that your human has been transformed, and if you cause any more trouble we will come back!"

"I understand," Carlisle nodded his head solemnly.

The Cullens all watched the Volturi go, looking relieved as soon as they were out of range, that this was over and nothing too terrible had happened.

"Well, that was a bit anticlimactic," Emmett was the first one to speak.

"Come on, you know the Volturi are a bunch of cowards when it comes down to something like this," Jasper smiled.

"Hmph," Alice huffed, she was keeping her focus on the Volturi in case they changed their minds and decided to come back. She was also thinking about the vision she had of them attacking Jasper, which made her very irritable.

"They were particularly afraid of you, Jazz," Edward said, feeling the relief that Jasper was feeling being pushed onto him, and he assumed everyone else. He, however, was with Alice, he wasn't about to relax yet. He then looked down at Bella, who was holding her hand that he had squeezed. "I'm sorry... did I hurt you?"

Bella bit her lip and looked into his eyes, knowing that she couldn't lie to him, she said, "a little."

"I'm sorry," Edward said pressing his cold lips against her hand. "I just didn't think it would be good if Jane, and Aro, knew that you are able to block her power."

"Why not?" Emmett pouted. "It would have been priceless to see her expression when nothing happened to Bella!"

"Be that as it may, it's safer for all of us that Jane doesn't know that," Esme said frowning at Emmett. "Though I must say that it gave me a fright seeing Bella in pain especially after watching..." she turn her head away then, she had reasoned that Bella was faking (though fearing that something had gone wrong and she hadn't been) but she knew Edward's pain was real.

"Actually it wasn't that painful," Edward announced. "I was expecting it to be a lot worse than it was."

"But you were screaming so much," Bella said looking at him, her lips trembling.

"Most if it was a show," Edward shrugged. "I hate giving the sadistic vampire what she wanted, but again I thought it was safer for all of us if Jane didn't know that. Did you have something to do with that?"

"Um... I don't know," Bella said thoughtfully. "I was trying to get really angry, remembering that that would help... and right before you collapsed, Jane's smirk really did push me over the edge... But I'm still human, I couldn't possible have shielded you."

"Bella, Bella, Bella, I thought you would have learned by now that there isn't anything you can't do," Edward smiled at her, kissing her briefly.

"So you weren't in that much pain," Esme said and Edward nodded his head causing her to sigh in relief. "You don't have to act so well next time, you really made me worry."

"Sorry," Edward smiled.

"It seems like they're really going," Alice said suddenly, having a vision of them catching a flight in Seattle, which they were already running towards.

"I do hope that's the last we'll hear from the Volturi," Esme sighed.

"As if," Rosalie said. "You heard Jane's warning..."

"Yes, I would say that we're now on the Volturi's list of potential threats," Jasper said. "And it really doesn't help that they know about Alice."

"Well, we'll just have to hope it will take them longer to form a grudge against us," Carlisle sighed heavily. "There is nothing we can do about it now."

"And there are still plenty of things we have to look forward to in the next few months," Esme said.

"That's true," Alice said, her eyes going wide, "and we've already lost a whole week of wedding preparation because of all of this! Bella, there is so much we have to discuss!"

"Edward, get me out of here," Bella said, gulping exaggeratedly as she looked at Alice's expression.

"Sorry little sister, there's no running from Shorty when she's like this," Emmett chuckled along with the rest of the family. Soon after that they returned to the house.

 **A/N: Well there's the Volturi conflict dealt with, sorry for all of you that hoped that this would come to a fight but first of all I honestly don't think the three Volturi would have started a fight against seven opponents (unless Alec was there, which he is not). Not to mention that if the Cullens had killed three of Aro's favorites, there would surely have been an even bigger fight and that would have messed with the time line of wedding and pregnancy and I didn't want to deal with that.** **I hope** **no one is disappointed about this outcome. Well anyway, the next chapter will have the wedding along with other things in it and if everything goes to plan there will only be a total of four more chapters.**


	35. The Wedding

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Five

The Wedding

The day after the visit from the Volturi, Bella returned to stay at Charlie's house. Her dad seemed pleased to see her, though he questioned why she had returned so suddenly.

"Alice was driving me crazy," Bella answered truthfully, though she only had to live through ten hours of Alice chatting at her about the wedding and not the seven days that Charlie thought she had to suffer through.

"I could imagine that would be tough on you," Charlie chuckled. "But just think how much harder it will be on you once your mom gets here."

Bella glared at her dad, who was utterly too pleased about this, "just wait, I'm sure Alice will have something for you to do..."

That wiped the smile off of Charlie's face as he realized the truth of that statement.

Bella went upstairs then to unpack her bag, Edward was there waiting for her, smiling as soon as she came into the room. They lay down in the bed for a little while, not thinking about anything in particular, just enjoying each other's company, however, after about an hour and half, they got up. They had made plans to meet Jacob and Sam at the clearing where the Cullens played baseball, among other sports.

"Do you realize that this is the first time that you've brought me here?" Bella said looking at the open area in wonder. Did they really play baseball here?

"Yes, I do realize that," Edward said, but they were both thinking of all the reasons why Bella should have seen this before which made them both shudder.

"It's about time you got here," Bella heard Jacob's voice, though she couldn't seem him when she first looked up. Realizing that he was the tiny dot on the other side of the clearing she was impressed that his voice could travel that far. A few seconds later Jacob and Sam were standing by them. Bella noted that though they had moved in superhuman speeds, they weren't nearly as fast as the vampires were (at least not in their human forms).

"Hey, Jake," Bella smiled and hugged him, they hadn't been able to see each in over a week and she missed her friend.

"Hey, Bells," Jacob smiled back before he moved to shake hands with Edward as Bella hugged Sam, who she might not have been that close to, but still considered him a friend. Sam nodded his head towards Edward. There was no hostility in his eyes but he was still reluctant to get too close to any of the vampires.

"So are you going to give us the details of what happened, or not?" Jacob questioned, looking towards Edward expectantly.

"Well it went as well as we hoped it would," Edward started, and then explained everything that happened. Sam and Jacob listened, both frowning in a pensive sort of way.

"I see," Sam said when Edward had finished. "Give me your honest opinion; do you think the Volturi will come back in the future? Pose a threat to you, and in extension, all of us like they had in the book?"

"It's not out of the realm of possibilities," Edward frowned. "And I can't give you an idea of how great the change is because I don't know. Without Aro being here, I don't know how he will take this news, but I would think that nothing will happen in the near future. It is likely that by that time we would have moved on to a different place..."

 _I didn't ask because I thought you were posing a danger to our town,_ Sam thought hotly, not actually directing it at Edward, but of course the vampire heard him all the same.

"I know, I didn't mean to imply that you were," Edward sighed.

"Sorry," Sam said annoyed. "As I'm sure you know, I don't like the danger these Bloodsuckers pose to our town, but I'm not only thinking about that! If they ever decide to fight you, you can count on us to be on your side! Even if Jake doesn't imprint on your daughter!"

Edward was surprised by this declaration, "Thanks."

 _Those stupid bloodsuckers are menaces, they should all be killed_ , Sam continued to them. "Just do me one favor, Edward," he said out loud.

"What is it?" Edward asked.

"Don't ask us to just sit back again," Sam said nearly growling. "Having to smell those freaking bloodsuckers... feel their presence all around town, it was driving all of us crazy."

"Don't worry, I doubt I'll ever have to ask you to do that again," Edward said his expression mirrored Sam's and the two knew that they had an understanding in this matter.

"Did the Volturi's presence have any lasting effect on anyone?" Bella questioned timidly.

Jacob and Sam frowned.

"We can't be sure yet," Jacob said, sounding as if he was willing this to be true more than believing that it was.

"However, we think that Collin, Brady and Seth..." Sam said and then he thought grimly, his sorrow coloring his thoughts, _and perhaps even Leah_. "They have all grown an inch in the last week alone."

"I'm so sorry," Bella frowned.

"This isn't your fault," Sam said to her firmly, though managing to look friendly as well.

"Then I'm sorry," Edward said. "We're the reason that they came here..."

"The way Jacob explained it, the only reason they came here was because you killed a filthy bloodsucker that particularly liked to hunt," Sam snarled, "I don't blame you for doing that."

"Not to mention by killing Victoria you've saved countless lives in Seattle and the surrounding area," Jacob added and Sam nodded his head. Sam left soon after that but Jacob stayed behind to talk about other things that had been going on in the last week.

O

The weeks leading up to the wedding all seemed to bleed together for Bella. She was glad that she didn't have much to do with the planning of it; she left that mainly to Alice, though she knew that Esme, Rosalie and even her mom had some say in the matter too. She spent as much times as she could with her mom as soon as she got into town, meaning that Bella had to spend more time than she wanted in the discussion of her own wedding. She knew that soon she wouldn't be able to see her mom again and that made her sad.

On the night before the big day, Alice showed up at her house, grabbing her arm and took her away before Bella could even say a word to protest. However, when they got to Alice's Porsche, Bella was able to stop her (only because Charlie was looking out the door with an amused smile).

"What are you doing, Alice?" Bella grumbled, crossing her arms.

"Come on, Bella, or you're going to be late for your bachelorette party," Alice said pouting.

"Bach... Alice, no!" Bella said looking horrified.

"Come on, Edward is away with the boys for his bachelor party and I didn't want you to be by yourself," Alice said.

"But..." Bella said looking towards the door, where Charlie was still standing chuckling.

"Just don't be too late, Bella," Charlie chuckled.

"Traitor," Bella huffed, and then looked at Alice. "Well, I'm not going to have any fun!"

"Don't wait up, Charlie, Bella's going to be staying at our house tonight," Alice said, ignoring Bella's comment altogether and soon they were speeding off towards some unknown location.

"I thought you wouldn't want Edward and me to be in the same house..." Bella started to say.

"Of course I won't," Alice rolled her eyes, "the boys are already gone on their hunting trip and Jazz had his orders not to let Edward anywhere near the house."

"Fine, but where are we going anyway?" Bella asked.

"Well it wouldn't be any fun if I told you that," Alice said smirking and Bella groaned yet again. However, it turned out that they were just going out to a nice dinner with Esme, Rosalie, Renee and Angela (the vampires obviously not eating the food they ordered) and after which they stayed out talking about plenty of things that Bella found embarrassing and yet she found that she was having fun with everyone else.

O

By the time that Bella got to dinner, Edward, Emmett, Jasper, and Carlisle were sitting in a forest near Canada, having already hunted their fill for the day.

"So, Eddie, are you looking forward to the big day?" Emmett questioned, _just think, this time tomorrow you can kiss your virginity goodbye._

"That's not really the reason I'm excited about tomorrow," Edward said rolling his eyes, though he would be lying if he said he didn't think about that.

"Sure it's not," Emmett waggled his eyebrows.

"I'm just happy that it's finally here," Edward said truthfully. "It seems like I've been waiting for a long time for this day to come..."

"So you're not nervous at all," Jasper said raising his eyebrow with a smug smile.

"Well seeing as I can't possibly lie to you, yes, I'm a little nervous," Edward said.

"Don't worry, I know you're inexperienced and all that but Bella doesn't know..." Emmett started to say.

"I worry about what's going to come next," Edward said. "I don't know what it is; I suppose part of me always doubted that I would actually get here, to this day. I was so worried that another attack was going to happen and prevent us from having the happily ever after that I didn't really think about what's happening right now..."

"Um... you really must be nervous, you're not making any sense right now," Emmett said.

"I'm going to be married tomorrow," Edward said with a smile that showed a hint of being crazed. "And a little after that I'm going to be a father... I've been thinking about that... I've been waiting for it to happen, but I've never prepared for it."

"And you're worried that you won't be a good father..." Carlisle said smiling at Edward.

"Sort of... but it's more like I have no idea what I'm supposed to do," Edward admitted.

"You'll learn," Carlisle said.

"I don't understand why you're worried, it sounded like you were fine in the book," Emmett pointed out.

"The book is from Bella's point of view, and let's face it, she makes me sound perfect in everything," Edward said.

"That's true, and we all know how wrong she is about that," Emmett snickered. "Besides, you only got to see your daughter as a little girl, imagine when she's a teenage and she's hanging around the pup all the time..."

"Emmett," Edward growled at him.

"It's not easy being a father, and I only have... limited experience of that aspect," Carlisle said, "It's not something you can every really prepare for, but it can be the most rewarding and fulfilling experience in your life."

Edward didn't say anything, but he smiled at Carlisle, who was, in all but actuality, his father.

"Enough of this emotional baby crap. It's time to teach Edward the ways to please his woman..." Emmett said smirking evilly at Edward, who was now grimacing; his brother wasn't going to give him a break.

O

The next morning Bella woke up to Alice's musical voice and no matter how much she tried to tune out her soon to be sister-in-law (or was it just plain sister?) she couldn't do it.

"Alice, what time is it?" Bella questioned getting up feeling very groggy, she wasn't used to sleeping without Edward and she found she didn't like it much.

"Seven, and it's about time you woke up!" Alice answered. "I have to get you dressed and do your makeup, thank goodness that you got a good night's sleep this time, it shouldn't be too hard to make you perfect... Still, standing here is wasting time, you're already cutting into the thirty minutes that I allowed for your human needs so if you don't..."

Alice kept talking but Bella tuned her out as she started taking care of her 'human needs'. Just like she expected, the second that her free time was over, Alice was all over her again, making sure every little detail was in order. Just like before, Rosalie helped Bella with her hair as Alice did something downstairs.

"So what happened with you keeping Alice under control?" Bella questioned Rosalie.

"Oh, this is Alice under control," Rosalie said smiling. "You should have seen how bad she was the time Emmett and I got married for the first time she knew us. Not that I minded much, I love Alice's weddings..."

"So she made you feel like you were a Barbie doll too?" Bella grumbled and Rosalie's response to that was merely a chuckle.

"You really have lovely hair, Bella," Rosalie commented, changing the subject. "It's a shame that we couldn't have the wedding in the sunlight though..."

"But having a glittering groom might freak out a few of our guests," Alice said. She was looking at Bella's hair critically for a moment, before nodding her head. "It looks like our Barbie's hair is done... (Bella blushed as she realized that she had been overheard) now I just need to work on the final touches."

"Bella...? Oh... Bella!" Renee said as she walked into the room and laid eyes on her daughter. Alice was again looking at Bella critically but also looking pleased.

"I believe I'm done!" Alice proclaimed.

"Bella, you look so beautiful," Renee said tears coming to her eyes. "I can't believe how grownup you are. You're not my little girl anymore."

"Mom, don't cry," Bella said, starting to feel a little teary herself as she realized that this would be one of the last times that she would be able to see her mom, perhaps ever.

"I can't help it, I'm just..." Renee said, unable to finish her sentence.

"Bella..." Charlie's voice could be heard and soon after that he was walking into the room too. He looked at Bella in awe for a moment before he smiled at her, his eyes both proud and sad at the same time. "Wow, kid, you sure look good."

"Thanks, Dad," Bella blushed.

"Charlie, don't forget to give her the gift," Renee reminded him, and Charlie blushed as he gave Bella the gift that included the sapphire combs that were her grandmother's.

"Renee, we really need to be going, or we're going to be late," Alice warned and the two of them left and Bella was left alone with her dad.

"I'm really going to miss you, kid," Charlie said softly.

"Dad, please don't, Alice will kill me if I cry before the wedding," Bella said.

"You're probably right," Charlie chuckled. "We probably should be going too."

"Yeah," Bella said, and walked downstairs with her dad. The inside of the house was decorated much the same it had been in the book, with the white blossoms hanging from gargling and white gossamer bows, it was truly lovely. However it wasn't where they were heading. No the house was only the scene of the reception, but the wedding was going to be held by the creek not too far from the house. Alice had decided to go with this knowing how often Edward had taken Bella someplace with nature in it when they spent time alone together.

As soon as they were outside they could hear the music and Charlie held out a hand to Bella. She took it, as she kept her eyes on the canopy of trees in front of them. She could just make out the gathering of chairs there and if she focused really hard she could see Edward standing next to Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper. The guests that had been invited to the actual wedding had been limited this time, so that only Tanya, Eleazar and Carmen (Laurent and Garrett were still unable to be so close to humans, not to mention wolves, so they opted to stay home). Then there was Billy, Harry, Sue, and Seth along with Angela and Ben.

Bella wondered why she didn't feel nervous about this at all as she reached the chairs and the music changed. Her eyes were on Edward and she couldn't wait to be married to him.

"Bells, it looks like we're up to bat," Charlie said. He looked like he had been overcome with emotions as he smiled at her.

She smiled back as she grabbed his arm tighter. "Just don't let me fall, Dad."

He nodded his head as they followed Bella's last maid-of-honor... Jacob.

"I can't believe you really made Jake do that," Charlie snickered as they walked carefully down the aisle.

"Well I wanted him to be a part of the wedding and that was the only available opening." Bella smiled as Jacob made a face at her when he turned around (he had obviously heard what they had said). The face only made Charlie chuckle more, but when he placed Bella's hands into Edward's she could feel he's sadness.

She couldn't worry about though, not when she was looking into Edward's eyes, about to realize the part of the dream she had for a year and a half. Edward's smile was breathtaking, his eyes showing the excitement that she was feeling. The vows were simple, and it suited them that way, they had already shown and said the multitude of ways that they love each other.

Tears of joy filled her eyes as she said, "I do."

And Edward smiled with relief and elation when he said, "I do."

It was merely a second after Mr. Weber pronounced them husband and wife that Edward and Bella kissed, neither one of them able to stop themselves any longer. It was Emmett, Jasper and Jacob snickering that made the pair pull apart. Bella blushed of course, but Edward just looked pleased with himself.

Then she was being hugged by all those present. Her mom first and foremost, then there was the Cullens, and the other vampires, the werewolves and her human friends. It was odd that even though there were only a handful of people there she still couldn't keep everyone straight as her mind was completely on her new husband.

 **A/N: So here's what I have for the wedding. I must say that I didn't really like this chapter myself, but it's all I could think of doing, I can only hope that it's better than I think it is. Next chapter, the honeymoon. I will say this now, this is a 'T' story and it's going to stay that way, so sorry to anyone that was hoping for more.**


	36. Honeymoon

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Six

Honeymoon

Eventually Edward and Bella made it to the reception in the Cullens' house and were greeted again by all those that were invited to the wedding along with the people that were only invited for the party.

"Congratulations!" Jacob said hugging Bella and then Edward, grinning from ear to ear.

"Thanks, Jake," Bella chuckled. "I guess you're over being one of my maid of honors."

"Not really, seeing as the guys are still giving me flack about it." Jacob made a face.

"Well, at least the outfit looks good," Bella said.

"Naturally, I can make anything look good," Jacob smirked. He was wearing a silver tux that had somehow matched with Alice and Rosalie's dresses.

"More like Alice has a knack for making everyone look good," Edward commented. "I must say it was amusing hearing Rosalie's thoughts when she was standing next to you."

"You have to tell me about it later," Jacob chuckled, knowing he had annoyed the blonde vampire.

"Sure, but naturally as soon as my Bella was near I couldn't hear a thought that anyone else was thinking," Edward said, his smile was serene as he looked down at his new wife.

"I'll take that as my cue to go," Jacob chuckled. "Congrats again, you guys..."

The next to come to them was Tanya, Eleazar and Carmen.

"Edward, it's been too long," Tanya said, hugging Edward.

"Yes, it has," Edward said smiling, and then turned to Bella and pulled her closer to him, the smile widening on his face. "I would like you to meet my wife, Bella."

"It nice to finally meet you, Bella," Tanya said.

"Though after everything that Emmett had said about you it feels like we've known you for years," Carmen added with a kind smile that Bella returned.

"I wouldn't believe everything that Emmett says," Bella said feeling slightly annoyed.

"Hm, you have a point," Eleazar smiled. "I suppose we'll have plenty of years to form our own opinion of you." His smile faded as he took a deep breath, "I must say that I'm sorry about all the trouble we have caused you..."

"Eleazar, that had nothing to do with you, think nothing of it," Edward said before the other vampire could finish.

"But I told them where you were..." Eleazar started miserably.

"You, of all people, should know that as long as they wanted to find us, they would have," Edward said firmly.

"I have been telling him this for months now, but he insisted on blaming himself," Carmen said shaking her head as she smiled at her mate.

"We really shouldn't take up so much of your time, it looks like a lot of other people want to congratulate you," Tanya said and there was indeed a long line of well-wishers. "Hm... but before I go, I just have to ask..."

"What?" Bella questioned when Edward sighed.

"Sorry, Tanya, you're the only vampires we've invited," Edward said.

"Oh well, maybe one of the humans here will catch my eye," Tanya shrugged, though she looked a little disappointed about this.

"Well, congratulations again," Carmen said, and hugged Edward and then Bella.

"What did Tanya think?" Bella questioned before any well-wishers could reach them.

"Part of her hoped that we would have a mate for her here," Edward said. "Seeing as the last two times our families have cross paths her sisters got their mates."

"Oh," Bella sighed, feeling sorry for the strawberry blonde vampire. "I really wish we knew who her mate was..."

"As do I, but there's nothing we can do about that now," Edward sighed, but when he looked at Bella the smile was back on his face. There was nothing that could get to him today. After they had greeted all the guests there, which seemed to be most of the town of Forks and a good portion of La Push as most of the werewolves had decided to come to the reception (Sam had even shaken Edward's hand when he congratulated him about the wedding), though Paul had decided to avoid this, still not liking nor trusting the Cullens.

Bella had danced with just about every male that was there, and was very pleased that she didn't fall down once, even when she was dancing with the mere mortals. Edward, too, had to dance with all the girls, and when it came to dancing with someone like Jessica he had to keep his face blank so as to not to show the revulsion he felt from her thoughts.

All in all, Bella was happy when the reception finally came to an end, but that was mostly because Edward now had his arms around her. She almost wished that she had decided to forgo the real honeymoon and just head somewhere close by so she could be alone with Edward sooner, but she had been enchanted by the description of Isle Esme in the book and she knew that she and Edward only had this time to get away by themselves.

"Come, Mrs. Cullen, it's time for us to be going," Edward said to Bella as she gasped at his words. Mrs. Cullen, that's who she was now.

O

Edward smiled down at Bella as she rested her head against his shoulder during their plane ride to Rio de Janeiro. She was beautiful in the blue dress that his sister had made her wear. His sister knew him well, he didn't want his Bella to be too fancy; the simple blue dress highlighted all of Bella's natural beauty. Not to mention, it was definitely his favorite color against her skin. He found himself thinking about what was going to be happening soon and he felt a wave of nervousness hit him. He had some ideas now of what to expect, and yet he also knew that this would be a completely new experience, one that couldn't be imagined until it actually happened.

"Edward," she moaned in her sleep, snuggling closer to him.

This made his mind wander into some of his favorite memories of how far their relationship had progressed the last few months. Excitement filled him as he realized that they had arrived at the day he had been waiting for, but the nerves still pecked at him. Knowing the effect she had on him, he realized how easy it would be for him to lost control... all it would take is a second...

"Edward," Bella said, they were now in the boat heading towards the island. He could tell by her expression she didn't miss that he was worried. "What's the matter?"

"I'm just nervous," Edward answered with her favorite lop-sided grin as he reached his hand up to tuck a piece of her hair behind her ear. "You're so beautiful," he added in a whisper, not even realizing that he said this out loud.

"So are you," Bella said with an answering smile... shy and blushing but also awed, blowing him away even more. She reached up to stroke his cheek, and he closed his eyes at her touch. He could feel his worry slip away at her touch. He had nothing to worry about; there was nothing he could ever do that would hurt this angel before him.

He opened his eyes and was almost resolved to get out of the boat and swim it to the island so they could get there faster, but he didn't. He settled for staring into Bella's eyes, the opening to her silent mind. He understood then that she was nervous too, but excited. It was odd, he had been waiting for this moment for more than a year and a half, and now it felt like everything came so quickly and he didn't understand were all the time had gone.

"I love you," he suddenly felt he should say, his emotions overwhelming him at the intensity he felt for those words. His eyes were still locked on her eyes, and though he couldn't even see her mouth, he knew she was giving him the smile that always made it feel like his heart was beating again, his mind would empty and all he could do was stare at her.

 _I love you_ , her eyes were telling him, and it was unnerving how close it felt to actually hearing her thoughts.

He didn't look away from her until he smelled the sand, knowing that they were only a minute from the island now. As soon as they landed he picked up all the bags out of the boat as he picked up Bella as well, before running at top speeds toward the house.

"What's the hurry?" Bella asked her voice amused.

"I can go slower if you want," Edward said, his tone amused too. "I would do anything you want."

Bella's breath caught and she bit her lip, as a blush came to her cheeks. Edward, of course, wondered what she was thinking, but he didn't voice this right now. When they got to the house, he put the suitcases down, to open the door, and then he walked Bella across the threshold, a satisfied grin coming to his face as he headed towards the white room.

They didn't speak as he put her down; they just stared in one another's eyes. Again, Edward had the sensation that he could almost hear Bella's thoughts as he kept eye contact with her. It was like they were at the edge of her shield, trying to tell him how much she loved him. It was altogether overwhelming for Edward and he leaned down to capture her lips in a searing kiss that seemed to hold so much more than any they'd shared before.

O

Bella lay awake in Edward's arms. Her eyes remained closed, but he knew she was awake. She could feel that in the way his hands stroked her back. Still, she couldn't bring herself to move just yet, she was feeling so content. She didn't think it was possible, but making love to Edward had far surpassed her fantasies of this moment. She felt that they had connected on so much more than just a physical way, but their entire beings had collided. As she remembered the intensity of the love that had shown in his eyes, she felt her heart rate pick up, her breath became shallow and her eyes opened.

"Hm... what are you thinking?" Edward questioned her as she looked up at him; he had a smug smile on his face as if he knew exactly what she was thinking. She knew it was impossible, especially since she wasn't trying to let him hear her thoughts like she had been just a few hours ago.

"I take from your smile, there's no bruising," Bella said, blushing slightly about being caught.

His eyes turned a little worried as he looked at her fully, taking quite some time before his eyes reached hers again. "None as of yet."

"You just wanted an excuse to inspect my body," Bella grumbled and Edward smirked at her.

"Maybe," he said, he was still stroking her back and the look in his eyes, similar as they were before and yet a little different. They seemed more lust filled than before. All of this caused her body heat to rise as she moved so she was now straddling him and she put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him deeply.

O

The next time that Bella woke up was to find Edward walking in the room with a tray full of food, including scrambled eggs. Bella smiled at him, as he set the tray in front of her before joining her in bed. She leaned against him, it was slightly warm in the house when he wasn't around but with him there everything was perfect. She ate her breakfast slowly, it was excellent of course.

"So, do you think I'm pregnant?" Bella questioned after Edward put the tray back in the kitchen and returned within three seconds. Her hands went to her stomach as she looked down. Her expression was hopeful, and yet a little worried.

Edward sat behind her, covering her arms that were still on her stomach, and resting his head on her shoulder. "Yes, I do believe you are. However, if you're really worried I would be happy to increase the chances that you are."

Bella chuckled as she turned in his arms so she could kiss him. "I suppose if we must..."

O

They were pretty sure she was indeed pregnant after the first day because of how much she ate for dinner, not to mention the colorful dream she had. However, they still took the pregnancy test that they had packed with them, smiling with pride when it turned out to be positive. Still, they spent the first week of their honeymoon mostly in the white room, though they made small trips to the ocean and other nearby places. After a while, Edward did manage to convince Bella to explore the island more completely, and she was happy about that. She loved seeing the natural habitats of this place thrive, swimming with the porpoises and the turtles and all the other entertaining things the island had to offer.

However, her favorite part of being out of the house was that she got to see Edward in the sun, his skin sparkling and reflecting multiple colors. It was nice that he didn't have to hide here, that he could enjoy the sun in the open with her.

It was two weeks after they had gotten there and they had decided to stay out on the eastern beach that night, just staring up at the stars. They were beautiful, with no lights or clouds getting in their way. As she looked up into them she felt completely at peace. Edward woke her up when it was close to the time that the sun would rise, and she watched as the sky started turning lighter, the stars starting to fade into the background. The sun seemed to have risen out of the water. The golden light on the surface of the water seemed to lengthen until it reached them. She turned to look at Edward then; his skin was glittering, but not quite as strong as normal. She continued to watch him as the color brightened with the sun, it was curious to watch every shade he turned, seeing as each was breathtaking in its own way. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

"Did you know," Edward started to say, his eyes were on the sun, a smiling pulling on his lips, "the first time I heard your heartbeat... you showed signs of waking up... that it was also at sunrise?"

"No, I didn't know that," Bella said, reluctantly turning her head towards the sun. It had made its way completely out of the water. It was beautiful, but still it didn't hold a candle to Edward.

"I remember thinking then that it was like the sunrise of my life," Edward said smiling still, now turning to look at her. "There were beautiful parts in it before, like the stars and the moon, but so much of my life was covered in darkness. I couldn't make out the details of all that there is in the world..."

"I thought you could see perfectly in the dark," Bella pointed out.

"I know you miss Emmett, but there's no reason for you to act like him," Edward rolled his eyes, and she chuckled. "I was speaking metaphorically and as if I had human eyes."

He turned back to the sky his eyes fixed on the sun, and continued his explanation as if there were no interruption.

"I could smell the dawn coming when my family was reading the books about you," he said softly. "It terrified me at first, I had no idea what to expect when the sun was going to rise, how much my life would change. I was terrified of what would happen if I stepped into the light and yet I've never wanted anything more in my life.

"The sun seemed to break the surface when I first heard you waking up, things started to take shape but there still was so much unknown, so much for me to discover. As time went on things become even clearer and I was sure that the sun would eventually rise completely and I would know everything there is to know, about you, about myself, about everything.

"I realize now that I was wrong about that," Edward said, looking back at her, his smile seemed to show his pleasure. "As long as I have you, my life will be an eternal sunrise. There will always be something new to discover and I can't wait to take that journey with you into the unknown."


	37. Pregnancy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Pregnancy

Edward and Bella arrived home after two weeks at Isle Esme. Bella hadn't shown any of her symptoms yet, but she knew that they would be coming soon and she wanted to be near her doctor when they did. However, when she got to the Cullens' house, she almost wished she had stayed away longer. She knew they meant well, but that didn't stop her from being self conscious with all the stares her family were giving her and the fact that she couldn't so much as stand up without everyone looking at her worriedly.

Naturally Carlisle had insisted on checking her out the moment she had arrived, admitting only then that he had been studying Obstetrics and gynecology since he knew that there was the possibility that she might become pregnant. She blushed at that until he thanked her for the opportunity to study another field of medicine, which he found to be rather interesting. However, even with all that he had learned, he couldn't really say much about the baby's health. All he could announce was that she was growing fast, which they already knew.

"Carlisle?" Bella asked after he had put the ultrasound machine away, he had hoped that the uterine wall surrounding the baby wasn't strong enough yet, but unfortunately they weren't able to see the baby.

"Hm?" Carlisle asked absentmindedly.

"What are the chances that this baby would be Renesmee?" Bella asked looking down.

"Exactly her? More than one in a million," Carlisle said. "It's clear that it's the same egg, for you definitely got pregnant the same time you did in the book, but still, genetically speaking..."

Bella's frown caused Carlisle to stop.

"I'm sorry," he said with a slight smile, "I'm getting a little too technical and the truth is that there is a good chance that everything that you read about Renesmee will be the same as it was in the book. We'll never know if she's exactly who she would have been in the book, but there's a good chance that she'll have your eyes, Edward's hair, the abilities that she had shown... if so, it's safe to say that she would be the child that we all read about."

"But you can't be sure that even those things will happen," Bella said softly.

"True, this child could be completely different than the one in the book," Carlisle admitted sadly. "But I don't think we should be worrying about that until we have to. You need to stay healthy and hopeful. And we will love this child whether it's Renesmee or not."

Bella looked down at her stomach, putting her hands on it, and she smiled. "You're right of course."

"Now come on, I'm sure the rest of the family is worrying about you," Carlisle said with a smile as Bella made a face.

"You just had to remind me of that," Bella frowned. "I think they're going to drive me crazy..."

"Yes, well, they mean well," Carlisle chuckled. "I think they're all just worried about what might happen. Though we have seen what would have happened thanks to those books, this is still something new to us, something we don't fully understand."

"Do you think I'm in danger?" Bella asked.

"This won't be an easy pregnancy, Bella, you know that," Carlisle said. "I truly believe that everything will work out in the end, for what other reason would there have been for changing things after reading the books? I know the others think that way too. They all love you too much to threaten your life, however, that's not going to stop any of us from worrying about what could happen."

"I just hope Edward isn't so bad," Bella said.

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Carlisle said.

"Hmm... and here I was planning on being a nervous wreck," Edward said coming into the room, causing Bella to gasp with shock. "Any news, Carlisle?" he added, smirking at Bella's reaction.

"Nothing that's unexpected," Carlisle admitted with a sigh.

"So what's your recommendation?" Edward asked.

"Obviously, Bella should eat normally as long as possible," Carlisle said. "And I know this might not be what you want to hear, Bella, but it would be best if you stay inside and relax, we don't know when the pregnancy will start to affect you physically, and it would be good to have your body as well rested as it possibly can be beforehand."

"So no blood yet and plenty of rest, I think I can manage that," Bella said.

As she settled down on the couch in the living room, she again could feel everyone's eyes on her even though she could never catch them looking at her. Thankfully when Carlisle came downstairs he seemed to be able to make them go about their business, though she could still tell that everyone was focusing on her.

"Okay, Bella," Emmett said suddenly, sitting next to her wrapping an arm around her shoulders. "I've been told not to treat you like you're on your death bed, so..."

"Instead you've decided to annoy me to death," Bella supplied.

"Not quite," Emmett pouted. "I was just going to sit here and tell you incredibly embarrassing stories about Edward... make sure you laugh a bunch. You know they say laughter is the best form of medicine, which means I'll be a better doctor than Carlisle..."

"I'm not really sure that's how it works Em, but I'll happily listen to your stories about Edward," Bella chuckled.

"Well, Emmett's certainly good at distractions," Edward said frowning. His brother had told Bella many stories about their life before she came in to it and hardly any of them painted him well. Still, he couldn't really do anything to his brother because Bella seemed to have relaxed considerably, not noticing the stares that his family was still giving her. "But he's going to run out of material if we keep up this pace."

"Don't worry, Eddy, boy, I still have plenty of stories to tell," Emmett grinned at him.

"Still, I wouldn't mind if I was distracted in other ways," Bella said looking at Edward.

"What do you mean, you want other people to come and visit you?" Carlisle questioned.

"Well that's not exactly what I meant," Bella mumbled to herself, then added, "Yes, that would be nice."

"Let me guess, you want the mutt to come and visit," Rosalie huffed from her seat next to Emmett.

"Yeah," Bella said sheepishly.

"Do you feel any extraordinary pull to have him here?" Edward questioned with a grim and yet hopeful expression.

"No, but that's sort of why I wanted him to come," Bella said. "I mean, we would know, won't we? If Jacob comes here and I feel something abnormal, we would know that our baby is Renesmee."

"You just had to say something like that," Edward grumbled.

"You don't want Jake anywhere near here, do you?" Bella asked knowingly.

"I was hoping that we wouldn't be seeing him any time soon. You know, for like the next eighteen years," Edward said.

"Our child will be fully grown in seven years," Bella said.

"Like I said, eighteen years would be soon enough," Edward added and Bella laughed.

"I know what you mean, but I don't see the harm in having him come here before I have the baby," Bella said.

"I know one," Emmett said suddenly. "You'll grow soft being all emotional and pregnant that you'll promise the dog he can see your little nudger as soon as you deliver her."

"That's not going to happen," Bella said.

"You can't be sure of that," Rosalie said. "I can totally see you doing something like that."

"No, I won't," Bella said again, this time firmly.

"Why not?" Edward asked.

"Because I want to know my child, you know after my transformation, before there's any kind of imprinting going on," Bella said.

Edward smiled at her, now that was something he believed would never change. "Fine, I'll call Jacob, are you happy now?"

O

It wasn't until the next afternoon, Bella having had her first bout of morning sickness, when she began to get worried about what was going to be coming next. She realized from the beginning that this wasn't going to be an easy pregnancy, but now that it was really happening, she was starting to get terrified about how much it would hurt.

When Jacob came into the room she felt a smile immediately come to her face, which in itself wouldn't have been odd (she always smiled when she saw her friend). However, the fact that her anxiousness loosened and she felt happier than usual to see her friend, was different.

"So this is all really happening," Jacob said, coming over to sit next to her. She didn't exactly look pregnant yet, though there were definite changes in her completion that were obvious to him. "You know I was pacing in my room the whole time that you were gone, worrying about this."

"Can't wait to fall for an infant," Bella said shaking her head. "That's just sick, Jake."

"What... no, that's not what I meant," Jacob huffed, but he smiled when she laughed. "I've been worried about you. Most things haven't gone how the book did... there's no guarantees that..."

"I'm okay, Jake," Bella said soothingly and Jacob sighed in relief.

"It feels different looking at you," Jacob whispered.

"I know what you mean," Bella said.

"Anyway, I was told that I was invited here to distract you," Jacob said, changing the subject quickly.

"Right, distract away," Bella chuckled.

"I suppose I should start off by telling you about our newest werewolves to join the pack," Jacob said.

"On no, who was it?" Bella sighed.

"Leah and Seth," Jacob said.

"Yeah! The cub joined the pack!" They could hear Emmett shout from the kitchen.

"Geesh, there's no privacy in this place," Jacob huffed.

"Nope," Emmett said walking in.

"You know it's not a good thing... changing into a wolf," Jacob frowned.

"I know," Emmett sighed. "And I'm sorry, but still... the child was really cool, someone anyone would like to get to know."

"Yeah, I know," Jacob smiled. "And he really seems to like the change."

"That's good," Bella said. "But what happened?"

"Leah and Seth were having some kind of argument, not serious," Jacob said, "just a fight among siblings. It was enough though. Leah exploded. She couldn't control herself. Seth was the only one there... he sensed the danger he was in and well... he exploded too. It wasn't pretty. And it took forever to calm them down."

"Man, that sounds rough," Emmett said.

"How does Leah feel about this?" Bella asked.

"Leah hates it, of course," Jacob said with a grimace. "Learning that our legends were true... learning why Sam had to choose Emily... learning about, well, you know, not being able to have kids... it was a lot for her to take."

"The poor girl," Esme said coming in the room with eggs and sausages for Bella and Jacob. "Is there anything that we can do to help her?"

"No," Jacob said. "I know you want to, but she doesn't want anything to do with you."

"She blames us?" Edward stated.

"Yeah," Jacob said. "She's going through a hard time, and she might not always blame you, but as of right now, it's all your fault that this is happening to her."

"She has a right to blame us," Carlisle said gravely. "If we hadn't come here in the first place, Sam wouldn't have changed. Even after finding out what we did to your people, we stayed here. If we had left, if the Volturi never came here..."

"Look, Doc, you didn't know what would happen when you came here," Jacob said. "No one could have. And as for you staying, what were you supposed to do? Just leave Bella behind... or worse kidnap her?"

"It's not really kidnapping if I was willing to go," Bella pointed out.

"Maybe, but it still would have been wrong," Jacob said. "You couldn't foresee any of this happening. I mean if you could have, you would have."

"So you're saying that I didn't do my job very well, thanks a lot, Jacob," Alice huffed.

"No, I was saying that it couldn't have been helped," Jacob said.

"And I'm just saying that she has a right to blame us," Carlisle added.

"Whatever," Jacob rolled his eyes.

"So the pack now has eight people in it," Emmett said. "It looks like there's equal numbers..."

"Emmett, whatever you're thinking, stop," Esme said narrowing her eyes at him.

"But..." Emmett pouted.

"She's right, don't think things like that," Edward was glaring at him, too.

"Besides, we have eight wolves now, but we're pretty sure that Collin and Brady are a few months from transforming too," Jacob went on. "Sam and I have been talking and he thinks that now with Leah being a wolf and the fact that there's so many of us, that we might split the pack up."

"You mean you would become Alpha!" Bella said.

"Well, not right away," Jacob said. "It wouldn't be until after the others join, but yeah, I'm thinking about it."

"I would say you're more than just thinking about it," Jasper said. "You don't really seem conflicted about this decision at all."

"It's rather annoying having so many special vamps in this room, you know," Jacob huffed.

"You'll get used to it," Emmett chuckled.

"Um... Em, you're still annoyed every time any of them uses their gifts against you," Bella said to him.

"What do you mean them? You're special too, you know," Alice told her.

"But I'm not a vampire yet," Bella said. "Besides, I think Emmett is going to like my gift, at least he is when I make it so Edward can't cheat anymore."

"Sweet!" Emmett beamed at her. "I knew there was a reason why I liked you, little sister."

"Thank you," Bella smiled back at him and then turned to Jacob. "What were you saying?"

"I wasn't saying anything, just calling Jasper annoying," Jacob said.

"Fine, then why aren't you conflicted about becoming Alpha?" Bella asked.

"I wouldn't say I'm not conflicted," Jacob said. "I was sort of hoping that I would never actually have to do this, but I know it's the right thing to do. Every time I transform now I can feel Leah's bitterness, her pain. I know by taking her in my pack it would only make that continue, but it would help her. It might even help her not hate your family so much."

"I doubt it," Rosalie said. "It wouldn't be that easy to make her forget that."

"You would know," Jacob said and Rosalie glowered at him.

Edward's head suddenly snapped towards Carlisle, his expression was slightly crazed. "Do you really think that could happen?"

"I'm not sure," Carlisle said. "It's a possibility..."

"What's going on?" Bella asked looking between the two of them.

"Carlisle was just thinking about what happened in the book," Edward started to explain.

"Of how you needed CPR," Carlisle said. "None of us, as in vampires, would be able to help you with that. I was just thinking it would be good to have a human... or a werewolf here..."

"No way, the mutt is not going to be there," Rosalie growled.

"I'm not the only werewolf there is," Jacob sighed, in truth, he did want to be there, especially if Bella might need help, but was trying to force himself to do the right thing. "I can talk to one of the guys."

"The cub... ask Seth to do it!" Emmett exclaimed, "It would be nice to have him around."

"That's not a good idea," Edward said, picking up on Jacob's thoughts. "As much as I wish Seth could be the one that helps, he's too young... werewolf wise. I doubt he would be able to be in the same room as us without turning."

"Ah," Emmett pouted.

"I'll probably get Sam to do it," Jacob said. "He's the best under pressure."

"Thanks," Carlisle said. "This is probably an over precaution..."

"There is no such thing," Edward said firmly.

"Speaking about over precaution and medical needs," Bella said and everyone looked at her questioningly. Edward's eyebrow raised in the way it always did when he was annoyed that he couldn't hear what she was thinking.

"The morphine shot," Bella said, and the confused looks on the vampires' faces increased.

"Bella, we discussed this. It's not going to help you with the pain..." Edward said his expression grave.

"I know that, Edward," Bella sighed. "But we don't know what else it might have done. What if not being able to move, or controlling myself after the morphine wore off, what if that helped me control my thirst? Or help me form more self control?"

"She might have a point," Carlisle said. "We don't know why Bella had so much control. It might have just been her. It might have been the knowledge that she had gained before she changed. Or it might be some combination of things."

"But," Edward frowned. "Bella, you feel better when I hold you... It might help... it might hurt less if I can hold you..."

"Edward, there's more," Bella said.

"What is it?"

"I don't want to be screaming... I don't want my daughter to hear me screaming," Bella said.

Edward groaned and pulled her closer to him, into a firm hug. He didn't want her to suffer in silence. He didn't want to watch her still form knowing that she was in pain and there was nothing he could do to help. But he nodded his head all the same. Screaming did no good. Comforting her would do no good. And she was right; their daughter didn't need to hear that. Didn't need to know the pain that she was in.

O

Bella progressed quickly. It seemed like in no time she was showing, and not long after that they had to start giving her blood for the baby. She had to suffer through broken bones and pains whenever the baby moved, and that seemed to be all the time. Still, she managed to get through it, and everything else seemed to be going fine. Jacob would come almost every day, and though she knew it probably wasn't right, she felt better when he was there.

It was a few days before they had expected the baby to be developed enough so they could perform a C-section that Edward had decided to call the Denalis. They were all sure that the misunderstanding that happened in the book wouldn't in this reality, but it was better to be on the safe side. It turned out the only one that was home at the time was Tanya, and she decided to come down immediately.

"You do realize that we don't have a man for you this time either," Emmett said to Tanya after all of the vampires had greeted her.

Tanya rolled her eyes as a way to answer. _Edward, why did you call me down here?_

"There's just something that I wanted you to see," Edward said.

Tanya raised an eyebrow.

"Come on, I'll show you," Edward said.

"This doesn't have anything to do with your new wife now being a vampire or something, because as nice as that will be, it's not really warranted by the excited call you made to me," Tanya chuckled.

"Bella is still human," Edward said. "But it does have something to do with her."

"Well, you've piqued my interest, what's going on?" Tanya said as she walked into the living room with Bella and Jacob sitting on the couch. She grimaced when she saw Bella, the girl looked deathly ill, literally like she was likely going to die soon. She looked back at Edward, whose brows were now furrowed in concern for his wife, but still looking cheerful. What was going on here?

"I just felt that this was something you had to see to believe," Edward said, nodding towards Bella, who lifted the blanket off of her to reveal a protruding stomach.

"What?" Tanya said, her eyes growing wide. She looked at Edward in disbelief. "Is that..."

"Bella, is pregnant," Edward said.

"But last month..." Tanya muttered.

"She wasn't... I'm the father," Edward said, almost smiling at her response. He could hear Emmett laughing from the doorway, and the rest of his family's amusement at her response.

 _It's nice that at least someone was shocked by this pregnancy_ , Emmett thought.

"But... how?" Tanya said.

"You're over a thousand and you don't know how babies are born," Emmett shook his head. "Well, you see when a man..."

"Emmett, sh," Esme said sternly.

"Apparently men are men, even if they happen to be vampires," Jacob said and Tanya looked at him with a wrinkled nose and confused expression.

"This is unbelievable."

"I know," Edward said. "But it's still true."

"You're going to be a father," Tanya said to him, starting to get over her shock.

"Yeah," Edward said, a smile spreading across his face.

"Wow!" Tanya said. "Congratulations."

"Thanks."

"You seemed to be talking this better than they all feared you would," Jacob commented.

"Huh?" Tanya said. "How was I supposed to take this?"

"Don't mind the mutt, he doesn't know what he's talking about," Rosalie hissed.

Tanya however wasn't listening to what she said as she thought about why Edward would call her, her and her family, so suddenly. "You thought we would react badly if we saw your child after it was born."

"She would probably look like an immortal child," Edward admitted.

Tanya's eyes filled with sorrow as her mind went to her, for lack of better words, mom and the fact that she lost her life because of she created an immortal child.

Edward went to sit next to Bella, trying to give Tanya some space. He tried not to listen to what she was thinking, but it was hard.

"I would like to say that we wouldn't have reacted badly to that," Tanya said softly a little while after that, "but that's probably not true. Thanks for telling me now. You don't mind if I stay do you?"

"I'm sure one more person to fall madly in love with our daughter as soon as she's born won't hurt," Edward smiled.

"So, you know you're having a daughter," Tanya said.

"We're pretty sure," Edward said not looking her in the eyes and she got the feeling that he was hiding something. It was the same feeling she got when the Cullens had come with Laurent and Garrett.

"Tanya, if I tell you a secret, would you promise not to tell the others?" Edward asked, causing Bella and Jacob to look at him questioningly.

"Edward, what are you doing?" Bella said.

"She deserves to know the truth," Edward said thoughtfully. "She deserves peace of mind."

Bella looked over at the strawberry blonde vampire and then nodded her head. "Okay."

"You were just wondering what we were hiding from you," Edward said. "Why we suddenly showed up with Laurent and Garrett. And I know you're hoping that one day we'll come with someone for you..."

"Edward, that was just a joke," Tanya said, rolling her eyes.

"I know your thoughts, Tanya, there's no point in lying to me," Edward frowned. "You realize that it's unlikely, but that doesn't stop you from hoping it would happen."

"But it's not," Tanya said gravely.

"I can't say that for sure, but no, it's not likely," Edward said. "The reason why we came to you with Laurent and Garrett is because we knew they were Irina and Kate's mates."

"How...?"

"We got these books telling us what was going to happen in the future," Edward started and then explained everything that had happened in the books. He didn't just go over the parts that had involved the Denali Clan either; he went over all the books, in as much detail as he could.

"So Irina..." Tanya said, closing her eyes in pain. She couldn't believe that her sister could have been killed if not for some mysterious book the Cullens got. She couldn't believe that her sister had told on the Cullens either, and realized that was the reason she got the call this time around.

"Yes," Edward said.

"You actually let Laurent live after what you heard he would do to Bella," Tanya said after a moment passed. Bella was now sleeping and Jacob had gone home sometime during Edward's explanation about _Eclipse_. Carlisle, Esme and Alice were in the room too, but the other Cullens were busying themselves with something else.

"I didn't want to," Edward admitted. "Those two made me."

"I didn't think it was right that he should die," Carlisle said simply and Tanya rolled her eyes at him.

"You're much too soft for your own good," Tanya said. "It might have cost you when the Volturi came; you do know that, right?"

"Yes," Edward was the one to answer. "But Carlisle can't change who he is any more that the rest of us."

"And we all respect Carlisle's decisions too much to go against them," Alice added. "Besides, it all worked out for the better in the end."

"You're only saying that because you don't have to live with him," Tanya pouted out.

"Is he really that bad?" Alice inquired.

"No, not really," Tanya said her eyes were far away. She truly was happy for her sisters, and she liked both Laurent and Garrett a lot, but she still missed the way it was before they came. She found that she had a lot more free time on her hands lately.

O

Bella woke up to the smell of eggs, bacon and sausage, and she smiled when she saw Edward holding the plate out for her to take.

"Good morning," he said, kissing her on the forehead and then on her protruding stomach.

She was in near constant pain as she tried not to move around much at all, because that usually made the baby start to squirm too, but waking up like that was worth it all. She loved how much Edward took care of her. Yes, she could see the sadness in his eyes as he looked at her grow bigger and weaker. She knew he was worried about what might happen to her and truthfully, so was she. It didn't change the fact that she could see how excited he was, too.

"Good morning," she answered him, moving slightly so she could lean on his shoulder. Like she thought, the baby moved with her, causing her to wince slightly in pain. Edward sighed, but didn't say anything, for which she was grateful. "Where did everyone else go?"

"Carlisle is in his study. Esme, Alice, Jasper and Rosalie are working on our cottage and Emmett is taking Tanya hunting," Edward said. "She said that being around open human blood wasn't helping her appetite."

"Oh," Bella said, looking at her cup sheepishly. "It's getting close to my birthday you know."

"Yes, I do know that," Edward said. "Vampires have excellent memories."

"The baby should be born soon," Bella went on, though she smiled at his attempt at humor.

"I know," Edward smiled, putting his hand on her stomach. She moved her hand over his and smiled. "Bella, is there something wrong?"

"I don't know," Bella said sighing. "I just feel something different. She moves so much... I don't remember it saying she moved so much..."

"Bella, that part of the book was in Jacob point of view, I'm sure she kicked this much in the book too," Edward tried to sound reassuring.

"It didn't seem that way to me," Bella said, her lips quivering.

Edward looked at her for a long time. "Tell me what you're thinking."

Bella sighed. "When Jacob first got here, I was sure we were having Renesmee. But now... I don't know. I know that Jake is going to imprint on our daughter, I can feel that, but I don't know if it's going to be Renesmee."

"Bella," Edward sighed, moving her closer to him, though making sure that her body didn't shift so much that it stirred the baby. "You really shouldn't worry about that. You know that no matter who our daughter is, we're going to love her..."

"I know."

"And just because things aren't going as they did in the book, doesn't mean that it won't be Renesmee," Edward added. "You were under so much stress then, and we didn't know anything... we didn't know how to help you."

"Carlisle said genetically speaking it was unlikely that it would be her," Bella mumbled.

Edward looked up at the ceiling where he could hear his dad groan, and send an apology his way.

"Well, practically speaking, I know it will be her," Edward said, moving his other hand so it was now on Bella's stomach too.

She leaned towards him and kissed him on the cheek. "I love you, did you know that?"

"I did," Edward chuckled. "But it's always nice to hear."

"It's nice to say too," Bella pointed out. "Just to let you know."

"I love you, Bella," he kissed the top of her head.

O

The next day he heard the thing he had been waiting for the last month. Thoughts, glorious thoughts, were coming from Bella's direction. On a normal day he would be disappointed that they weren't coming from her, but right now, it filled him with joy and panic in equal measure.

He paused for a few seconds, Bella didn't even seem to notice as she chatted with Alice and Rosalie about something, something that he was talking to them about just a second ago but he couldn't for the life of him remember what it was. Not when he could hear the second thought, the loved that filled his mind when the baby listened to Bella's voice.

"I heard!" Edward said suddenly, making everyone looking at him oddly. He didn't care, because he could hear his little girl's thoughts.

"Edward," Bella said slowly as she realized where he was looking.

"Oh my god," Alice said. "Carlisle, it's time."

A rush seemed to happen and the room was suddenly filled with vampires. Carlisle was there, checking Bella's vitals. Emmett and Jasper, who had been wrestling in the front yard to blow off steam, rushed in. Edward was sure he wouldn't have noticed their arrival at all if it wasn't for the extra anxiety he was feeling coming off Jasper.

"Jazz," Alice said, going over to stand next to him. "We're all anxious enough..."

"Sorry," Jasper sighed and then tried to control himself.

"Now, Bella, I need you to take deep, calm breaths," Carlisle said.

Edward looked up to meet her eyes and saw that she was starting to panic too. They had decided that as soon as they heard the baby, they were going to start making preparations for the C-section.

"Breathe, Bella," Edward said calmly, and Bella took a deep breath, keeping her eyes on Edward. Soon enough she was breathing normally again.

"We're going to be parents," she said with wonderment.

"Yes," Edward said smiling before his eyes widened and he looked down at Bella's stomach.

"What... is something wrong?" Bella asked, panic filling her voice again.

"No," Edward said looking back up at her trying with all of his might to keep a straight face. "She just likes my voice... I wasn't expecting that to make me... so happy."

"Of course she likes your voice," Bella said proudly.

"I'm going to go help Carlisle get the other room ready," Edward said getting up and he noticed her looking at him suspiciously and with concern so he added excitedly, "we're going to be parents!"

She smiled and turned to his sisters and mom, and he knew that they would keep her comfortable. He ran up to talk to Carlisle.

"Is there something wrong?" Carlisle asked warily, he didn't need help getting things ready for the delivery and Edward knew that.

"I heard another voice," Edward said, his expression was impossible to read.

"Another..." Carlisle said confused and then his eyes widened in comprehension. "You mean she's having twins!"

"I think so."

 _I thought she looked bigger than she should have been, but I couldn't be certain with this particular pregnancy._

"You could have let me know this was possible," Edward glared at him. "How is this even possible?"

 _I could give some explanations as how this happened, but you know biology well enough to figure this out,_ Carlisle said thought.

Edward frowned, thinking about the book, how because of his stubbornness it had been a week before they had made love again, but that wasn't true this time. It had been hours. Could it be possible? Could that have made it so they were allowed to have another child? He knew biologically it was, but again he was caught unaware of just how vampire/human pregnancy worked. Though he never even considered this, he realized that he thought that because the fetus grew so fast that it would be impossible for another pregnancy to occur even if there was an extra egg.

"Edward, there's no time to waste," Carlisle said.

"Do you think she's in more danger now?" Edward's head snapped towards his father and for the first time he heard the concern that was running through Carlisle's mind.

"I think we need to hurry," Carlisle said. "As soon as Sam gets here we will start. In the meantime, you have to tell Bella about what's going on."

Edward couldn't say anything to his father, but he ran down the stairs to join his wife on the couch again.

"Edward what's going on?" Bella said, looking at him with worry. "Everyone's looking scared, what's wrong?"

"Nothing's wrong," Edward said, but he knew that she didn't believe him; he knew he wasn't hiding his worry from her at all. "I just... we think you're having twins..."

O

Bella's eyes went wide and her heart started to hammer even faster than it was before.

"Bella, you have to calm down," Edward said.

"Bella, look at me," Jasper said coming into the room and placing a hand on each of her shoulders. "Your babies need you to be strong; there is nothing to worry about. Carlisle is going to make sure that they're okay, and Edward would never let anything happen to you."

Bella let the waves of calmness wash over her, fill her entire being. She could do this. She could handle having another half vampire baby because Jasper was right, Edward was here for her, and Carlisle would make sure her babies were healthy.

"Thanks, Jazz," Edward whispered, and she realized that her brother wasn't only helping her relax. The look in Edward's eyes was still hard to look at. He was worried that she wouldn't make it. That this was going to be too much for her. But she was going to make sure that wasn't going to be true.

"I'm going to take you to the other room now," Edward said, picking her up carefully.

"Edward, what are we going to name the other twin?" Bella asked as he lay her down on the table. Carlisle was there, standing slightly in the corner. Rosalie and Alice were on the other side of the door, they would be taking the babies while Bella was given venom so she could transform.

"I don't know," Edward said, not seeming to even care about that right now.

"Do you know if it's going to be a boy or girl?" Bella asked.

"I don't know," Edward repeated.

"Edward, please listen to its voice," Bella said.

"Bella, I..." Edward said gravely.

"I want to name my baby," Bella insisted. "Or at least I want a say in what my baby should be called and I think it's wrong if we wait three days before it has a name."

"She has a point, especially since the baby will remember that you didn't give it a name," Alice supplied from the other side of the door.

Edward sighed, and concentrated on the babies' voices. A smile briefly crossed his face when he realized that they seemed to be communicating to one another, probably through Renesmee's gift. The smile broadened when he noted the difference in tones.

"I can't be sure, but I think the other baby is a boy," Edward said, looking up at Bella with pride, but as their eyes met she realized that he was again worried for her safety.

"That makes it easier then, his name will be Edward just like you and your father," Bella said, stroking his face.

"That might make things confusing though," Edward said, trying to just think about what this would mean. That he might have a son as well as the daughter that he already fell in love with. "Having two Edwards in the house."

"Maybe," Bella sighed.

"Then again, we can call him Eddy, and Emmett would have to stop calling me that," Edward added.

Bella chuckled. "Actually, maybe we could call him Teddy, that's a nickname for Edward, too, isn't it?"

"It's actually what my dad went by," Edward admitted. "I think I like it."

"Are you planning on keeping his middle name Jacob too?" Rosalie grumbled from the other room.

"It would be nice if you two would butt out of our conversation," Edward huffed.

 _Not likely_ , Alice and Rosalie thought at the same time.

"Actually, it might be nice if he had his own name, one that he didn't have in common with anyone else," Bella said.

"Did you have anything in mind?" Edward said softly.

"No," Bella said. "I picked all the other names, you pick this one."

Edward chuckled this time. "And what if I'm wrong and it's a girl."

Bella was silent for a while before saying, "I don't know any other girls name."

"Can't combine anyone else's name to make a new name that nobody has heard of before, can you?" Edward teased.

"Nope," Bella smiled at him. "You can pick it too."

"Fine," Edward said. "How about Alex."

"Is that for the boy's middle name or for the girl's name?" Bella asked.

"Both," Edward said.

"You're so lazy, you can't even think of two names," Bella rolled her eyes.

"Well, it's very difficult picking names," Edward chuckled.

"It's time," Carlisle said softly and Edward looked at his dad warily. "Don't worry, everything is going to be fine."

 **A/N: I didn't really think I would end here, but sorry, it just seems like the right place. I just wanted to say to everyone that reviewed about them having twins was good at guessing, or maybe I foreshadowed this more than I thought. I was planning on making the twins from the beginning** **after someone gave me a review before I even started the story and the idea stuck.**


	38. Happily Ever After

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom and Angelinia, who beta this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Happily Ever After

The birth was difficult to say the least. It was painful too. Ribs cracked, bones broke, and vital organs were in danger of failing. Everything seemed to blur together in one giant battle to keep everyone alive. Renesmee came out easily enough, a broken bone or two but nothing that was too serious. Carlisle had excellent patience and skill to deliver her safely. Bella smiled at the curly bronze-haired girl when Edward held Renesmee up for her to see. The brown eyes seemed to sparkle with knowing wonderment as mother and daughter looked at one another for the first time.

However, she didn't get to hold her baby girl before Rosalie was taking her away to be cleaned up. And she didn't have time to worry about that because the pain came back, doubling as Carlisle said it was time for them to deliver her other baby. This was more difficult. She heard words she couldn't really understand as Carlisle and Edward worked on her as quickly as they could.

"Bella," was the last thing she heard as darkness encompassed her.

O

To wake up to pain was bad. To wake up and feel as if your body was on fire, that there wasn't an inch of you that wasn't in excruciating pain, was worse. However, it was the fact that she couldn't move, couldn't cradle herself… couldn't even scream that made her panic along with the pain. She couldn't remember anything in that moment, nothing about herself, or anyone else. There was no reason in her, just pure pain.

"It's going to be okay, Bella," she heard a voice some time later, or just a second, she wasn't sure, the pain seemed indefinite so time didn't matter. "I'm right here for you."

She tried to keep her mind on the voice, but that was impossible. The pain was the only thing that mattered, and she was incapable of thinking of anything else.

"Mommy is just sleeping, honey," the voice said again. It had to have been later, for it seemed that her mind was starting to remember things. To be able to think about more than just the pain. The voice was Edward's; she remembered Edward. He was the reason why she was willing to go through this pain. She might have been wrong about that choice, nothing was worth this pain.

Other memories filled her though, memories of a little girl with brown eyes, her eyes. Renesmee. Another reason to go through this pain. Excruciating as it was, this time she knew that was true. She would burn for the rest of her life for Renesmee. Still, she wouldn't have minded if the burning part was a little less... well, burning.

It was horrifying when she realized that she forgot that she had yet another reason for her pain. It took another male... Emmett? She was sure it was Emmett, saying, "Don't worry, little man, your mommy is going to be just fine and be the best newborn in the world."

Little man, little man, the words went through her head like a chant, warding off the pain as much as anything could. Meaning that it didn't help at all, but it was still worth repeating. She didn't only have a daughter. She had a son. A son that she had no idea what he looked like. A son that she never knew existed until ten minutes before she was having him. A little Edward Alex Cullen.

She could feel the morphine start to wear off, and a part of her wanted to open her eyes and demand to see her son… and daughter too. But she didn't move. If she so much as opened her eyes she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself from screaming in pain. The pain seemed to claim all of her attention in that moment to prove to her that she was right.

She had no idea how long she had been sitting there, but she focused her senses on the rapidly beating heart. She was filled with panic when she could only hear one, but she quickly realized the twins' hearts beat as one, or at least it did right now. This fact was verified when Rosalie took one of them away to be fed and the beating became stereo.

"You know, I think your mommy can hear us now," Edward said, talking to the child that he was still holding. "Do you think we should tell her what you look like, little Teddy?"

There was no answer to the request, but she heard Edward chuckle.

"He has my eyes, the one that I had when I was human. I know you'll be happy about that," Edward went on to say. "He has your hair. It even turns slightly red when it's in the sun. Rose took him and Renesmee out yesterday to show them their rooms. She's just trying to get as much time with the two of them before you wake up and she can't hog them as much. Nessie looks just like she did in the book, and she even has her special gift. We're not sure if Teddy has a gift yet, but I'm sure we're going to find out soon enough one way or other."

"You know there's no reason for you to worry, Edward, she's going to wake up soon," Alice said.

"How soon is soon?" Edward asked and Alice must have just thought the answer before she was gone.

"Now that's just mean of Aunt Alice, isn't it?" Edward said, obviously talking to their son. "Not telling mommy when she's going to wake up even though Alice knows she wants to know."

There was a silence and Edward chuckled again.

"In an hour, but it will be a while longer before you get to see her," Edward said again to their son. "Because mommy has to go hunting and learn a few things before she can meet you, but don't worry, once she does, she's never going to want to let you go."

An hour seemed like it took forever to come. She felt the pain drain through her body. The intensity of it never changed, but there were just less areas that it affected. Her heart, of course, was last. It beat frantically, but its numbers was matched. As soon as the last beat rang, she opened her eyes.

O

The description in the book was nothing compared to how this felt. She hadn't been ready for the pain she had just suffered and she didn't realize how truly different everything would feel and look when she was a vampire. The colors, especially the strange one that Emmett liked to call yamon, seemed new and almost indefinable. It made perfect sense to her now why they called new vampires newborns, despite the fact that they had been alive for years before they were changed. It really was a different world that they lived in.

"Bella?" Edward queried in a calm voice and she turned to look at him.

He held his hand out slowly towards her, wanting for her to take it. She couldn't bother with his hand, as she stared into his face. It was beyond words. He was beyond words. She used to think he was perfect before, but now, she had no idea what perfect was before now.

She moved her hand slowly towards his face, placing it on his cheekbone, shocked by how warm, how normal it felt. It was no longer cold and solid. It felt like any other person's face would feel. No, that's not true, humans were now fragile and warm to her.

"Beautiful," she said to him, hearing the bells in her voice as she spoke for the first time.

"No, you're the one that's beautiful," Edward smiled a breathtaking smile.

"I always knew that your insistence that I was beautiful as a human was full of crap," Bella said as Edward's eyes sparkled with amusement while Emmett and Jasper laughed.

Bella looked at them for the first time with her new eyes, and as she expected, she was instantly wary of Jasper and his many bite marks. But his eyes were kind as he smiled at her, and she felt herself relax.

"How are you feeling, Bella?" Carlisle asked.

"Better now," Bella said, her mind going to her earlier pain. "How long was I out for?"

"Well, Edward gave you a shot with his venom in it just over two days ago," Carlisle explained. "You, however, passed out a good five minutes before that happened. Your son was in a difficult place for us to get at and your body couldn't handle all the pain it was going through..."

"Hmph," Bella huffed. That might have been true for her pain of giving birth, but it certainly wasn't true about what she went through during her transformation.

Carlisle sighed, seeming to know what she was thinking, before he continued. "Sam had to come in and help us keep air in your lungs and your heart beating."

"It was a good thing Carlisle thought of having a human around," Edward added under his breath, causing her to turn to smirk at him.

"I heard that," Bella said. "No more secret mumblings for you."

"I suppose not," Edward chuckled.

"So everything went well after that," Bella said.

"Everything's perfect, Bella," Edward said. "We are the proud parents of two amazing kids, and I have a beautiful newborn wife."

"I want to see them," Bella said.

"Hunting first," Edward said. "Have you even been thinking about how thirsty you are since you woke up?"

"No," Bella smiled; though of course she was now. "That could be a sign that I have that crazy self control thing too."

"It might, but I still don't recommend that you go near any stray hikers," Carlisle smiled, but looked at Edward sternly.

"I'll make sure I won't mess up this time," Edward chuckled. "Come on, Bella, we should get going."

"I noticed that I'm dressed in reasonable clothes this time," Bella said looking at herself in the mirror that just happened to be in the room.

"Well, I didn't want you to ruin my dress like you did last time," Alice huffed.

"Alice, the last time was a book that didn't really happen," Bella rolled her eyes.

"It was real to me. It's not like it's the only future that I've seen or heard of that didn't come true." Alice shrugged. "Now just because you're not in a dress doesn't mean that you can destroy what you're wearing, you hear me?"

"Sorry, Alice, I think I'm probably going to be a messy eater," Bella smiled, leaving the room.

O

Hunting really seemed to come naturally to her, though the meal wasn't that appetizing. Still, she was full by the time she got back home, just itching to see her kids. She also had to keep her eyes off of Edward as much as possible, because every time she looked at him she had the urge to kiss him until the sun came up. Edward wasn't much help with that fact either, she could feel his desire for her too, radiating off of him.

Still, she ran back to the house with a passion she had never known before. It was odd moving so fast that it actually made everything else seem like it was going in slow motion. Well, everything else except for Edward, who was moving at her pace. When she jumped across the steam on her way home, it felt like she was flying, and she loved the feel of the wind going through her hair.

Edward stopped her just outside of the house and made her listen to the heartbeats of her children, a sound that she had already familiarized herself with. She took a deep breath as she took in their scent. The perfect balance between human and vampire, or as she liked to think of it as just enough vampire in them to allow her to be near them without pain.

"I'm ready, Edward," Bella said.

"I know you are," Edward agreed and they walked into the house.

Though she had said she was ready, she seemed to have a hard time actually moving. Her children, the girl she had read about a year and a half ago and the boy she never knew she would have, weren't real yet. She hated that, the disconnect she had with them. A dim memory told her that as soon as she held her baby, and now hopefully, babies, that would go away, but she was still afraid.

Edward grabbed her hand and gave it a tiny squeeze. He was there for her, he would be there for her until the end of time now, and that made her smile. It was in the span of one of the twins' rapid heartbeats that she let her fears rest and she walked into the house.

She was thankful in that moment that she was a vampire now and she could keep her eyes on both her children at the same time. Alice was holding Renesmee, who seemed to have noticed the moment Bella walked into the room. Her eyes were glued to Bella, who felt the urge to run to her, which she probably would have done if it wasn't for the fact that Teddy (who Rosalie was holding) was looking at her in a similar way.

Bella literally couldn't decide who to go to first and was pleased when her sisters just brought her both of the babies, so she could hold them at the same time. Holding them side by side, she gazed down at them and smiled. She was convinced that her book self was completely right in the way she had described her daughter. The girl definitely had her eyes but mostly she looked like Edward. Teddy, on the other hand, seemed to be an even mix of her and Edward. He had Edward's eyes, or at least according to Carlisle, who was the only one that knew the human Edward, he did. They were like emeralds, they sparkled when he smiled and yet they could show such depths of beauty when you looked into them. His hair was the exact shade as hers and it was curly. She could pick out characteristic in his features that she herself had, and though she would have loved if he looked actually like Edward, she felt proud that she could see herself in her son.

Edward's sudden chuckle caught her off guard and she asked, without taking her eyes off of her children, "What's so funny?"

"Well, first they're both happy to see you awake," Edward said, "and second, they were practically betting on who you were going to hold first. They're a bit annoyed that you took them at the same time."

"I'm sorry I couldn't settle your bet," Bella said smiling at her children.

"Don't worry about, these two will think of something to fight over any second now," Edward chuckled. "They're almost as competitive as Emmett is."

Edward didn't really say more, because Renesmee moved to touch Bella's face then, describing what it had been like for her to wait to meet her mom. Bella distinctively saw little Teddy give his sister an annoyed look, before he snuggled closer to her.

O

Over the next few months a lot of things happened. Edward, Bella and the twins moved to the cottage, which had to go through a bit of a remodel with the addition of an extra child. Even though Renesmee and Teddy seemed to like sharing a room, the fact remained that they were rapidly growing and someday soon they would need their own rooms. Edward and Bella were both thrilled that they had two children, and more importantly, that it was a boy and a girl. The truth was everyone was glad of the unexpected surprise that was Teddy.

The twins remained highly competitive about everything. Teddy was the first one to talk, when Renesmee huffed that was only because she didn't have to talk because everyone could know what she was thinking. Still, not wanting to be outdone, Renesmee was the first to walk, and she started reading minutes before Teddy did. Hunting, however, was their favorite form of competition, for that was a new challenge every day.

Besides their competitive steak, the twins were very different. Renesmee was more curious, whereas Teddy was more adventurous. However, the biggest difference they had was that Teddy actually liked eating human food, which shocked everyone. Yes, he still liked hunting more than eating people food, but it was a slight difference and it was quite easy to make him eat it.

They did seem to share a gift that was unique between them. They could read each other's minds and distance didn't seem to be a problem. No one was sure why this was but Carlisle's theory on this was because they had formed a way to communicate with each other while in the womb. Edward's theory, however, was that Teddy had some kind of gift of his own, and that this had something to do with it. Over the next couple of weeks it seemed that Teddy did show signs of having a gift, because he had been able to read Edward's mind too. However, he wasn't able to read the others. Eventually, they had discovered that he could copy other people's gifts if he was close enough to them. It had been one day when Bella was holding Teddy and Edward was unable to hear his son, though he knew that Bella wasn't trying to block him.

After about a week as being a vampire, Charlie had come over. Bella hadn't been planning on letting him know about anything that had happened until she had tested her control more. She thought that she would have had months to do that. However, Charlie had gone over to Harry and Sue Clearwater's house for dinner and their newly formed werewolf children sort of let the secret out unintentionally. Even with this, Bella knew it was risky to let her father see her, especially now when she had no idea if she could even control herself.

However, Charlie now knew enough about this world to accept that there were unexplained things that happened, and he was likely able to handle the news about what had happened to her. Not to mention, the sooner he saw the twins the easier it would be for him to understand who they were. It had been hard, being close to her father. Her throat ached and her instincts where driving her crazy, but she managed to control herself. Charlie instantly fell in love with his grandchildren and he spent a good amount of time at the Cullens.

The issue with Jacob was the one thing that stuck in the back of her mind over the first few months with her family. She missed her friend, that was for sure, but it didn't feel the way it had when she was human. She knew that she didn't want her daughter to go and belong to someone else, not this soon anyway. But the problem was that it was too late for that, even with Jacob not being around. She knew it was just a time bomb waiting to happen, and she couldn't change that. Whenever she discussed this with Edward, the argument would always lead to it being wrong vs. keeping their daughter from having someone in her life that truly loved her more than anything else (which just made Edward's claim that it just felt wrong sound more reasonable).

However, they decided that on Christmas that they would invite everyone to the Cullens' house to celebrate. And by everyone, they meant everyone. All of the wolves, the Denalis, Charlie... everyone. It just felt right, having their family with them, celebrating the twins' first Christmas.

 **A/N: So this is the end of the story. As of right now I'm not really planning on writing a sequel to this. If I ever do, it won't be for a long time and it would mostly be about Teddy because he has an undeveloped story line that I could play with.**

 **I just want to say thanks to everyone that has reviewed these** **stories and those who have stuck through with this until the end. I will be listing everyone that has reviewed this story on this chapter either today or tomorrow but it takes awhile to type all the names up and I thought you would prefer to have this chapter now than wait for that.**

 **Thanks to everyone that reviewed:**

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	39. Merry Christmas

**Disclaimer: I do not own Twilight or any of the characters.**

 **A/N: Thanks to katmom, who** **betas** **this story.**

Merry Christmas

"I still think we should have gotten the bigger tree," Emmett's voice could be heard from the backyard, he was carrying the back end of an enormous Douglas Fir tree that he and Jasper had chopped down that day.

"And I keep telling you that if the tree was any bigger it wouldn't fit in the house," Jasper's exasperated voice said. "Besides, that tree had a bald spot on the back and this one was more even..."

"No, it wasn't!" Emmett huffed, "it was the best tree there..."

"That's enough, boys," Esme said with a smile. "This tree is beautiful," she added with an appreciative look. "Put it in the family room."

"Will do," Emmett said, seeming to get over his surly mood quickly today. It was Christmas Eve after all, and he was looking forward to the celebration they would be having this year. There was just something about it being the first Christmas as a complete family that made him extra cheerful this year.

"What are we supposed to do with that?" Renesmee asked when the tree was placed in water and set up in the family room. Alice, having already picked the place where their tree was supposed to be, quickly twisted and turned it so it would show its best features.

"We're going to decorate it," Edward answered and his daughter raised an eyebrow, clearly asking why. "It's a Christmas tradition."

"Don't worry, Nessie... it's going to be a lot of fun," Bella smiled sweetly at her.

"Is it going to be fun like putting the lights up on the house was fun?" Teddy questioned with a smile. He really liked the design that Alice had come up with; he especially liked it when he and his family went home and he was able to see the full effect.

"I think so," Alice smiled, coming back in the room with four boxes of ornaments that she had just bought. "And it's something we're going to do as a family."

"Cool," Teddy smiled, running to her and talking the top box from her. Not wanting to be left out, Renesmee ran to her too, taking the next box. She had to suppress a laugh when Emmett came to her next with the same expression the twins had; he was obviously having just as much fun with this as they were. They tried to decorate the tree at as close to human speed as possible so that they could enjoy the time longer, but it only took half an hour despite the fact that the tree was huge.

"So, who gets to put the star on top?" Rosalie asked.

"Me!" three voice said at once.

Rosalie rolled her eyes at her husband.

"What... I think it's better if I did it, you don't want to show favoritism between them do you?" Emmett stated, giving her a pleading look.

"You're such a kid," Rosalie shook her head.

"There's nothing wrong with that," Emmett said, still giving her the same look. "Please!"

"But I want to do it," Teddy said as Renesmee touched her cheek, showing her how much she wanted to do this.

"Just pick a number from one to ten," Jasper suggested.

"But Teddy can cheat," Emmett pouted.

"I would never cheat," Teddy frowned, looking slightly hurt.

"I can't believe you said that Emmett!" Rosalie glared at him.

"That really wasn't called for," Esme added.

"I really don't think he deserves to be considered any longer after saying something like that," Jasper suggested, smirking at Emmett.

"Now... come on!" Emmett said but it seemed all the girls were in agreement with Jasper.

"So it's decided; Nessie, Teddy, whichever one of you is closer to the number I'm thinking of will get to place the star on top of the tree," Edward said, smirking at his brother.

"At least make it more interesting," Emmett pouted at being disqualified, but still didn't want to make things too easy. "How about they have to pick the exact number and it's one to a thousand."

"Fine," Edward said. "You go first, Renesmee."

"57!" Edward shook his head.

"459!" Teddy said and Edward shook his head again, and Renesmee said her number. It took a minute for the number to actual be picked, after they both guessed a hundred and six times. Renesmee had said 460 (which made Teddy really upset because he was so close with his first guess) and she ran to get the pretty star from Rosalie. She actually had to make a fair size leap to be able to actually put the star up there, but it looked perfect when she landed.

"What happens now?" Teddy asked, not letting the fact that his sister beat him get him down. He was really liking this holiday.

"We can roast chestnuts on an open flame," Bella suggested, trying to think of something to do.

"Um... would we have to eat them?" Renesmee said making a face.

"It sounds interesting to me," Teddy said, he was always willing to try anything once, though it helped that he sort of liked normal people food. "What's the matter, Ren, are you afraid?"

Renesmee glared at him, "I'm not afraid of anything!"

"That's the right attitude," Emmett chuckled.

Everyone gathered around the fireplace then, Teddy sitting in Bella's lap as Renesmee was in Edward's, and it truly was a perfect ending to their day. Renesmee actually ended up liking the chestnuts more that Teddy (though neither one of them liked them that much), which everyone found to be extremely funny. After that it was getting kind of late, so Edward, Bella and the twins went to their home, knowing that they would be back at ten to have the meal with all of their family.

O

Teddy woke up early the next morning. He wasn't really sure why he was this excited, but this was the first kind of celebration that he knew of and he was really looking forward to what was going to happen. When he left his room he noticed that his parents were sitting near the fireplace just seeming to enjoying each other's company. He always loved when he saw his parents like this. It was like he could almost feel their happiness (though of course he couldn't).

"Do you want to join us?" Bella asked him with a sweet smile, holding out her arms.

He didn't answer; he just sat in between them, resting his head on his mum's chest as she stroked his hair. As he sat there he looked around the room and noticed that each of the stockings that they had hung up were now filled with things. He wondered what was in them, but he decided not to do anything about that... he had a feeling he had to wait for his sister before he could open it.

His dad chuckled and projected his thoughts; _you're right about that... everyone has to be here._

 _That's okay,_ Teddy thought back to his dad, _I don't mind waiting._

"What are you two thinking about?" Bella huffed; she didn't really appreciate the fact that she was the only one that couldn't share thoughts (though she had learned how to control her shield enough so that she could let Edward hear what she's thinking from time to time).

"Just the Christmas stockings," Edward chuckled again, kissing the top of his wife's head.

"What about the Christmas stockings?" Renesmee asked, walking into the room looking rather sleepy.

"It's time to open our stockings," Teddy said, jumping out of his parents' arms and running over the fireplace and taking down his stocking before anyone else could even move.

"Go on," Bella said trying to suppress her laughter at both her son's actions and the confused look on Renesmee's face.

Renesmee didn't move quite as quickly as her brother, still not really understanding what was going on, but she had noticed that the stockings were now full of things and she was curious about what might be in them.

"Cool!" Teddy said, as he pulled out an iPod, "It's already full of music?"

"I thought you would want to listen to something right away before you have a chance to change the songs," Edward answered, knowing his son like a lot of different kinds of music, a lot of which he doesn't listen to that much.

 _You're such a brat,_ _Teddy_ , Renesmee thought at her brother, "I love my iPod, Daddy."

 _Of course you do, you love all Dad's_ _favorite songs,_ Teddy glared at her. "I never said I didn't love my iPod too, I was just curious about it already having music on it..."

"Please don't fight," Bella said to her children, who were now glaring at each other.

"Okay, Mommy," they both answered before looking back at their stockings.

When Renesmee pulled out a pretty little locket, she opened it and read _'more than my own life_. She ran to her mom, touching her cheek to show how much she really loved the present. She asked her to put it on for her and then stayed sitting in her mom's lap.

"Um... is it supposed to look like this?" Teddy asked with a frown. He was holding a nice looking watch that had an engraving on the back that read:

 _My favorite surprise_

Bella frowned at this response.

"No, it's not supposed to look like that, but seeing as you're still young we had to change the band of the watch so it would fit you," Edward answered, looking warily at his wife. "Once you've grown a little more we will be able to put the real band on and it will look better..."

"Oh," Teddy said and put the watch on.

"I just wanted you to be able to use it now, but also be able to keep it once you grow older," Bella said still frowning.

Teddy looked at her again and smiled, "I really like it, thank you so much, Mommy... Daddy."

"You're welcome," Edward smiled as Teddy came to join the rest of his family on the couch. They stayed like that until it was time to leave and join the rest of the family at the main house. Though it was daytime, Alice had left the lights on and because it was an overcast day, the effect was actually rather nice. When they got into the house they immediately realized that the Denalis were there already, talking to the rest of the family. However, as soon as they came in, every eye seemed to be on them.

Tanya ran over to them first, having already seen the children she was comfortable greeting them. "Wow, everyone warned me, but I still can't believe how much they've grown in three months!"

"I know, they look like they're three years not three months old," Bella sighed, but smiled as Renesmee put a hand on her cheek, inquiring about the other people that were there. Bella then said, "she wants to be introduced to the others."

"Of course," Tanya smiled as the others started getting close to them. "This is my sister Kate and her mate Garrett. My sister Irina and her mate Laurent... and Carmen and her mate Eleazar."

"Hello," Renesmee said as Teddy waved at them, both of them enjoying the attention they were getting.

"May I?" Kate asked Edward and he handed her Teddy as Carmen seemed to claimed Renesmee. However, they were passed around to each of the others quickly. Neither Teddy nor Renesmee minded this much, for they were curious about the new vampires just as much as they seemed to be with them. By the time that Charlie and the Quileutes started showing up, Teddy found himself back with Garrett and Kate, being interested in the adventurous vampire and the stories he was telling. Renesmee seemed to like Carmen.

"Hello, Dad," Bella said when Charlie came in, giving him a hug, while holding her breath. For the most part she had control of her instincts but she didn't want to chance breathing when she was this close to him. "Merry Christmas."

"Merry Christmas," Charlie repeated, looking around the house with an awed expression. "I don't know why I'm so surprised when I knew Alice would be involved, but I think she really outdone herself this time."

Bella sighed at that. "She certainly did."

"I wanted the twins first Christmas to be special!" Alice huffed, and then smiled at Charlie. "You don't think I went overboard with the decorations do you, Charlie?"

Charlie looked slightly uncomfortable before he smiled at her warmly. "No, I think they're lovely."

"Told you so," Alice beamed at Bella who rolled her eyes.

"I can't even get you on my side," she said shaking her head at her dad.

"Sorry," Charlie chuckled and gave Alice a hug, "So where are my grandchildren anyway?"

"They're in the family room," Bella smiled, and he made his way through the house to find them.

"Grandpa!" they both exclaimed, running over to him (at human speed) and giving him a hug. Soon he had joined everyone else, pleased when his grandchildren chose to sit next to him.

It was ten minutes later that the wolves started showing up, starting with the Clearwaters, though Leah had decided to patrol rather than get anywhere near the bloodsuckers. Embry and Quil where next to arrive, followed by Sam, Emily, Paul and Rachel, who brought Billy with them. Jacob was the last to show up. He was nervous as he approached the house and stopped short when he saw that Edward was outside.

"Hey," he said to the vampire that was frowning at him.

"Hello, Jacob," Edward said, trying to look as friendly as he could, but he was still wary of what was about to happen.

Jacob seemed to understand what he was thinking and said, "If you don't want me to come in, I would understand..."

"Jacob, to be honest, I probably never will be ready for you to see my daughter," Edward said truthfully. "But I've been outvoted..."

"Sorry," Jacob bowed his head.

"It's not that bad though... at least I like you," Edward shrugged, with a grimace. "Besides, I can see that Bella really has missed talking to you."

"I miss talking to her too," Jacob admitted. That was the hardest part so far about not being able to see them; he hadn't been able to talk to his best friend for months. He knew that as soon as he saw the little girl that was his imprint that this would change, that she would become the most important thing in his life, but right now he missed Bella most.

"That's interesting," Edward said, "Come on, let's get this over with."

"Hey, Jacob," Bella said before they could even get into the house.

"Hey, Bells," Jacob beamed at her and gave her a hug, one that would have nearly crushed her before she changed but now didn't seem to do anything. As he pulled away he was shocked by the fact that he didn't even think of her as being a vampire... Yes, she had changed, she was more beautiful than ever, but she was still Bella. Even with the offensive smell and the fact that she was now hard as stone couldn't change who she was inside.

"It's good to see you, too," Bella chuckled, this time hugging him back with some of her strength and he winced. "Oops... Sorry..."

"You did that on purpose," Jacob pouted at her.

"Maybe," Bella chuckled. "It serves you right for all the time you hugged me like that."

"Sure sure," Jacob just chuckled, too.

They walked into the house and then into the now full family room. It was loud in there as Emmett, Jasper and Laurent argued about some silly fight in one of the corners. Charlie had gravitated towards Billy, Harry and Sue; obviously more comfortable than he was when he first got there. Carlisle was talking to Eleazar, Carmen and Irina. Garrett was actually talking with the werewolves, at first so he could apologize to Quil and Embry for the effect he had on them. After that had been settled, he seemed to have come up with something they could all talk about and they were actually having a good time. Teddy had joined them, again enjoying the interesting tales that were being told there.

However, what caught Jacob's eyes almost immediately was the corner couch where Esme, Alice, Tanya, Kate, and Rosalie holding Renesmee sat. The little girl looked up at him almost as soon as he came into the room, her brown eyes so much like her mother's use to be, and yet they seemed to be even more beautiful. He felt it as soon as he saw them, his world being ripped away from him... changing completely from what it used to be.

She was now his world.

Renesmee wasn't sure what it was about this new guy. He looked a lot like the other Quileutes she had met both before and earlier today, but there was something different about him too. There was just something about his eyes that made her want to look at him. She held her hand to her Aunt Rosalie's cheek, asking her who this guy was. She felt her aunt stiffen, and she felt like she asked the wrong thing.

"That's Jacob," Alice was the one to answer. She seemed to be frowning too and Renesmee was left wondering what she did wrong. "Would you like to meet him?"

"Yes, please," she answered and Alice took her from Rosalie, who seemed more upset than ever, and walked over to the guy, Jacob.

"Hey, Nessie," Bella said when Alice approached with her daughter, taking the little girl in her arms. Renesmee touched her cheek and she saw Jacob in her mind and the obvious question of who he was. "This, sweetie, is my best friend Jacob."

"Hello, Nessie," Jacob said, smiling at her in a wide contagious smile and Renesmee found that she was smiling too. "It's nice to finally meet you."

"You too," Renesmee said, but she was frowning.

"What's the matter, Ness?" Bella asked.

"If he's your best friend, why didn't he come here before?" Renesmee asked and Bella had trouble not reacting to that questioned, her daughter was too observant for her own good.

"I've been really busy at school," Jacob chuckled. "And learning how to be a good leader..."

"Leader?" Renesmee frowned.

"Jacob is the Alpha of..." Bella started to explain.

"But I thought Sam was the Alpha?" Renesmee looked more confused than before.

"Sam is the alpha of one of the packs, but seeing as there are so many of us along with some other things, it was best that I took more responsibility," Jacob smiled. "I think I've learned a lot about being a leader these last three months..."

"Like what?" Renesmee asked. She was fascinated by Jacob, there just was something about the way he talked that made whatever he said interesting.

"Well, for one thing, I've learned that it's not all fun and games... there's a lot of work involved," Jacob said seriously, finding it very easy to be honest with Renesmee. They continued talking until Esme called all the humans to dinner and the others stayed in the living room discussing other things. Renesmee, even though she didn't want to eat anything had decided to stay with Jacob so she could hear more of the stories he had to tell. She quickly realized that he was going to be her favorite wolf and before her mom left her she asked if Jacob could come over more often.

"I'm sure he will," her mom answered in an odd voice that confused Renesmee but then she was smiling again. "I would kind of like to see him more often too."

"Don't worry," Jacob said to her mom. "I'll make sure not to make a nuisance of myself."

"It's too late for that," Rosalie grumbled from the living room, causing several vampires and werewolves alike to snicker.

Renesmee frowned, not sure why her aunt would say that but otherwise let it go. She enjoyed talking to him throughout the meal and when it was over and she got back to the living room they joined her parents and Seth on one of the couches.

"Who are you?" Teddy asked, coming to the couch to join his family and giving Jacob an odd look. He had not been oblivious to his sister's thoughts and he really wasn't liking how much this new guy seemed to be in them.

"I'm Jacob." The guy smiled at him as if they were friends.

 _Teddy, be nice!_ Renesmee huffed in her thoughts.

 _I don't have to be nice if I don't want to be_ , Teddy shot back at his sister, mentally sticking his tongue out at her. The only effect this had was his dad's to mouth thinned.

 _Dad!_ Renesmee thought at her dad, pouting at him.

"I'm sorry," he chuckled. "Come here, Ted."

Teddy went to sit on his dad's lap and then looked over to Jacob curiously, still wondering who this guy was and why he was invited to this dinner.

"Jacob is your mom's best friend," his dad explained and Teddy seemed to relax a little at that, but still wasn't pleased about how much his sister was thinking of this guy. However, by the end of the night, as he watched his mom, dad and Jacob joke around about things he had to admit the guy wasn't so bad.

All in all it really was a wonderful Christmas, the dinner and the company. Even the wolves and the Denalis seemed to have gotten along rather well. They could sense that this was going to be a tradition that they were going to try to keep up for as many years as they could.

 **A/N: I'm not sure how this turned out, I wasn't really planning on writing about Christmas but a lot of you asked for this and seeing as it is Christmas time right now, I thought it would be a nice present for you all. The more I think about it the more likely I feel like I will make a sequel to this story, though I really don't have the time to do that in the near future. However, I probably will be able to give 'one shots' every once in a while. I will just be adding them to the end of this story because I don't actually like writing one shots (I like long stories like this one). It is my hope that these will bridge the gap between Eternal Sunrise and the story I'm planning on doing about Teddy that will take place about fifteen years in the future. (So in fifteen years of time I should be able to come up with a few one shots to give you). Anyway, hope you like this chapter.**


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